


Challenge from the Ghosts of the Revolution

by NineBlades



Series: Rurouni Kenshin [6]
Category: Rurouni Kenshin
Genre: F/M, Some scenes may be more M-rated due to violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-31
Updated: 2018-07-30
Packaged: 2019-04-16 08:42:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 23
Words: 148,342
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14161035
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NineBlades/pseuds/NineBlades
Summary: This is the sixth installment in my Rurouni Kenshin rewrite, this time covering the story several stories and it is the first part of a three book series that covers the events of the Kyoto story Arc.  This will start a little before that, but since all these events start to tie into Kyoto I included it all into one book instead of splitting it up.  Because there are three main points to this book with be broken up into three sections.  This is written a little different than my previous books, each chapter will tend to start with something going on in the world that will (eventually at least) tie into our main charters before we spend the rest of the chapter focuses on our main story, that way while we continue to follow the struggles of Team Kenshin you also get little peaks into some of the other main points going on in the rest of the world that will soon turn everything upside down and start us down the road to Kyoto.  I highly encourage you to read my previous installments in this series, starting with The Two Hitokiri's as this book is part of that series (also so that you can see the disclaimer that goes with this series).





	1. Glossary

**Author's Note:**

> Since I use some Japanese words and/or phases at times I provide the glossary for the entire work upfront, I suggest that you keep this somewhere easy to refer to throughout the book.

**Glossary**

  * **Aku-** symbol that means evil, also can translated as either wicked or bad
  * **Andon bakama-** undivided hakama, like a skirt, they differ from hakama (not only in being like a skirt) in that they typically have different fabric designs and method of tying. They are traditionally only worn by shrine maidens or rarely for tea ceremonies
  * **Battosai-** The warrior name given to Kenshin during his days as an assassin during the revolution
  * **Bo-** a long staff could be up to 70 inches long
  * **Boku-ken-** a wooden practice sword
  * **Choshu fraction-** Anti-Tokugawa (shogunate) domain; home to many patriots
  * **-chan** \- honorific. Can be used either as diminutive (e.g. with a small child “Little Hanako”), or with those who are grown, to indicate affection (“My dear…”)
  * **Cord of wood-** a unit of measure with firewood, that is 4x8x4 feet stack, or 128 cubic feet of wood stacked
  * **Daifuku** \- a traditional Japanese treat made of made of small round rice cakes stuffed with sweetened red bean filling
  * **Dojo** \- martial arts training hall
  * **-dono** \- Honorific. Even more respectful than –san; the effect in modern-day Japanese conversation would be along the lines of “Milord So-and-So.”  As used by Kenshin, it indicates both respect and humility
  * **Hakubaiko** \- perfume made of white plums
  * **Hamon** \- the wavy line in the katana denoting the blade
  * **Hakama** \- similar to pants but pleated and worn only by men during the time of the Meiji
  * **Heian age-** 794-1185 AD
  * **Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu** \- Kenshin’s sword technique, used more for defense than offense. An “ancient style that pits one against many,” it requires exceptional speed and agility to master
  * **Hitokiri** \- An assassin. Famous swordsmen of the period were sometimes thus known to adopt “professional,” names
  * **Hosozao shiarisem-** the smallest form of the traditional Japanese shiarisem, roughly the size of a ukulele but with only three strings
  * **Ishin Shishi** \- loyalist or pro-Imperialist patriots who fought to reinstate them Emperor to his ancient seat of power
  * **Kama** \- a short hand scythe
  * **Kamiya Kasshin-ryu** \- Sword-arts or kenjutsu school established by Kaoru’s father, who rejected the ethics of Satsujin-ken for Katsujin-ken
  * **Katana** \- traditional Japanese long sword (curved, single-edge, worn cutting-edge up) of the samurai. Used primarily for slashing; can be wielded one- or two-handed
  * **Kenjutsu** \- the art of fencing; sword arts; kendo
  * **Jikininki** \- Ghosts that eat human corpses.
  * **Nakago** \- the part of the katana’s blade that is inside the hilt and is used to hold the blade in place
  * **Obi** \- sash
  * **Okashira-** the name given to the leader of the oniwanbanshu, the defenders of Edo castle in the Meiji revolution, it means “the head” ie leader or boss
  * **Oni** \- The classic Japanese demon. It is an ogre-like creature which often has horns.
  * **Oniwanbanshu-** elite group of onmitsu or “spies” of the Edo period, now known as “ninja” or “shinobi”
  * **Onmitsu-** ninja
  * **Oro** \- a phase often used by Kenshin, it has no real meaning, just an exclamation of surprise
  * **Rurouni-** wanderer, vagabond
  * **Sakabato** \- reversed-edge (the dull edge on the side the sharp should be, and vice-versa); carried by Kenshin as a symbol of his resolution never to kill again
  * **Sakara** \- Japanese for cherry blossom
  * **-sama** \- honorific. The respectful equivalent of –san, -sama is used primarily in addressing persons of much higher rank than one’s self, or in the romantic sense, in addressing those upon whom one has a crush
  * - **san** \- honorific. Carries the meaning of Mr, Ms, Miss, etc, but is used more extensively in Japanese then its English equivalent (note even an enemy may be addressed as –san)
  * **Sen-** unit of Japanese currency, equal to one hundredth of a yen. No longer in circulation.
  * **Sensei** \- teacher
  * **Seppuku** \- suicide
  * **Shikomizue** \- a sword disguised inside of a cane, they are typically of less durable than a traditional katana
  * **Shinai** \- Kenjutsu “practice sword,” said to have been developed around 1750.  Traditional constructed of four pieces of well-seasoned bamboo, a small piece of metal inside the “butt” of each stave keeps them aligned
  * **Shinobi-** another word for ninja like onmitsu
  * **Shinobue _-_** a Japanese transverse flute or fue that has a high-pitched sound made of bamboo
  * **Shinsengumi** \- elite, notorious, government-sanctioned and exceptionally skilled swordsmen-supports of the military government (Barkufu) which had ruled Japan for nearly 250 years, the Shinsengumi (“newly selected corps”) were established in 1863 to suppress the loyalists and restore law and order to the imperial capital of Kyoto
  * **Shogi-** Japanese chess and a popular game in the Edo period
  * **Shunga-** erotic art, technically illegal but still widely sold
  * **Tabi-** ankle-high, divided toe socks that are worn with sandals
  * **Tanuki** -is the common Japanese name for the Japanese raccoon dog. They have been part of Japanese folklore since ancient times. The legendary tanuki is reputed to be mischievous and jolly, a master of disguise and shape shifting, but somewhat gullible and absent-minded.
  * **Tennin** \- the Japanese version of angels. They are usually pictured as unnaturally beautiful women dressed in ornate, colorful kimonos (traditionally in five colors), exquisite jewelry, and flowing scarves that wrap loosely around their bodies. They usually carry lotus blossoms as a symbol of enlightenment or play musical instruments
  * **Tsuba** \- hand guard on a sword, it is a disc shape and serves a duel role of preventing the user’s hand from slipping as well as blocking or warding off an attack.
  * **Ume** \- Japanese plum, it is called a plum though it is more similar to an apricot. It is rarely eaten raw but is more commonly pickled or used to make wine.
  * **Wakizashi** \- similar to the more familiar katana, but shorter (blade between 12-24 inches)




	2. The Struggle to Live

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part 1: The Emperor’s Tournament
> 
> This section of the book will cover the Tournament idea that I had and was mentioned first in the Revival of the Shino-ryu.

**Part 1: The Emperor’s Tournament**

**Chapter 1**

**The Struggle to Live**

Riku stood numbly, his hands were cruelly bound behind his back as the masked soldiers surrounded him and the other five villagers who had tried to fight back against the criminals who taken over their village.  They had killed the last policemen to come to their village, Shingetsu, and declared themselves the new leaders of the village.  The people of the village had waited for another policeman to come and stop them, the army, anyone.  But no one came.  Finally, a few had decided to try and take their village back from the criminals who were oppressing them in the name of someone called ‘Shishio’.  Riku had been one of those men, at the urging of his childhood friend, Gorou, he had the others had agreed to try and launch a rebellion against the men who had overtaken the village.  Riku and the others had no idea who this ‘Shisho’ was supposed to be, or what the end game was.  All they knew was that these men had destroyed what little presence the government had in this village and had killed anyone who resisted as they robbed the people of what little they processed.  As it was, the people of Shingetsu had almost nothing left, most were too afraid to stand up against the men who would ruthlessly kill anyone that they deemed even the least bit rebellious. 

 _I just had to believe Gorou, he said this plan would work, damn him,_ Riku thought harshly, hating his old friend who had now condemned them all to die.  Their conspiracy had been discovered before they even got the chance to try and drive the intruders out of their village.  Riku was pushed into the line being formed as the masked men lined up the rebels to where ropes were swung over a set of arches in the village and nooses were tied.

“These men have conspired against the great Lord Shisho and will be killed for their crimes,” one of the masked thugs announced as the people of the village huddled back in fear.  No one stepped forward to stop the hanging, Riku saw that most looked away, clearly trying to distance themselves from the horror before them as six of their young men were about to die.

 _These bastards won’t even lift a finger in protest,_ Riku thought in disgust as the masked soldiers went down the line strapping the nooses around his friends’ necks and then lifting their bodies into the air, their feet kicking for the ground they would never feel again.  _We won’t even get a proper burial.  They will just leave our bodies for the crows and look away.  And these thugs will just keep going on with the cruelty, is there no one who will stand up and say that ‘enough is enough’?_   The soldiers finally reached him and fastened the noose firmly around his neck. 

As Riku was jerked into the air and the noose tightened he started choking and kicking out of reflex, trying to free himself despite the fact that it was a fruitless gesture.  Riku saw something in that moment, a man in the back of the crowd standing a little ways off and by himself.  He wasn’t someone that Riku knew, which was strange since Riku knew everyone in the village and the masked soldiers had forbidden any strangers to enter the village, immediately killing all outsiders.  If Riku hadn’t been choking to death, pain and panic filling his brain, he might have wondered what the tall stranger with piercing eyes was doing there.  But these observations were only a passing thought before Riku’s feet stopped kicking and he succumbed to death.

***

Slowly, step, by step, he stalked his prey.  His mouth watered at the thought of how good his quarry would taste, its sent tantalizing to his senses as he honed in on his intended victim.  The small gray rat was unaware of its danger as it sniffed around, looking for food.  It gazed around, sniffing the air to assess for any threats but sensed none.  Freckles blended in so well with the darkness in the kitchen, his solid black coat hiding him perfectly such that he would never be spotted as long as he hid in the shadows. 

Two more slow steps forward and the rat suddenly became aware of a strange sent on the air, he started to run but it was too late as Freckles sprung forward in a giant leap and caught the rat firmly in his claws.  The rat squealed violently and tried to escape but its squeal ended abruptly and Freckles grabbed his kill firmly in his jaws and stalked off proudly to enjoy his meal in a quiet corner.  He walked calmly into the dark house of the dojo through his own secret cubby, immediately making his way to one of the backrooms that smelled the most strongly of his human, a young female that other humans called ‘Kaoru’ but Freckles just referred to it as either his human or his mistress.  She had found Freckles as a little kitten half drown from a flood in the river and had nursed him back to health.  Freckles felt a special kinship with the woman, even thought she was a human, and she was the one he could most easily communicate with.  She always gave Freckles plenty to eat, lots of love and affection, and provided a warm place to sit, and a warm bed.  Freckles just wished that she wouldn't hog so much of his bed at night.  It was almost as though she believed that the bed was _hers_ and not rightfully his.   But then she was a human and not born with the superior ability to reason that all cats process so Freckles forgave her for her shortcomings.

They were other humans who would come to visit him and his mistress and they were a source of treats and affection for Freckles so he tolerated their presence.  One was an old man, called Doctor Gensei, who always smelled of odd things that Freckles had encounter in no other human, he understood that the home belonged to Freckles and would show his submission and respect for his lord with a quick rub behind the ears.  The other humans who were associated with him were two small females; the taller one was called Ayame and the smaller Suzume.  They enjoyed playing with Freckles but did not seem to understand the proper respect that they should show him.  Freckles was tolerant of them most of the time though they were more noisy than he preferred, but they were young ones and allowances must be made for the young who do not yet understand when to show respect and humility to their masters.  There was another young woman, called Tae, who used to come often to the house to visit Freckles’s mistress but it had been sometime since she had come.  Occasionally strange men and women would stay in the home for a night or two, but they never stayed long so Freckles learned not to trouble himself with the appearance of strange people in the house.

Recently other humans had come to live with him and his mistress and Freckles had first thought that they would leave like the other strangers had before, but to his surprise they stayed.  The first was a man, his mistress called him Kenshin, and Freckles had built up a strange relationship with him.  At first Kenshin had paid his respects to Freckles and brought him tokens of food (though most of the time Freckles had to fetch the food himself instead of it being handed to him, but Freckles figured it was all part of the training of a new human).  This aspect of their relationship had changed dramatically and now Kenshin would shout wildly and chase him when Freckles tried to take the tokens of food, then at other times the human would scare Freckles as he was walking quietly to take a token of food and then would try to appease him with a treat.  All in all, Freckles found the behavior peculiar and suspected that the human was not quite right in the head and that his mistress was taking care of this weak link in the herd of humans.

The other human who now lived with him and his mistress was a young boy.  Freckles wasn’t sure what the humans called him as there seemed to be some confusion, most called him ‘Yahiko’ but his mistress most often called him ‘Brat’.  Freckles decided that his mistress must be right and so referred to the boy as Brat.  He was loud and rarely gave Freckles any tokens of food which at first annoyed him somewhat, but Brat quickly made up for this character flaw in Freckle’s eyes by providing belly rubs whenever Freckles demanded them.

Another man had appeared at the dojo, this was another one that there seemed to be some confusion about the name but like with the boy Freckles had decided that his mistress must be right and called the tall young man with hair that reminded Freckles somewhat of a chickens’ crest ‘Freeloaded’.   Kenshin might call him either ‘Sanosuke’ or more frequently, 'Sano’ but Freckles had already decided that he was not the most intelligent human and so ignored these references. 

The last person who had arrived at the dojo had been a woman, older than his mistress.  They called her Megumi, Freckles had other names for her since she was not friendly to him, never giving him food or petting him as a sign of respect and humility.  She seemed to think she was Freckles equal with the way she subtly challenged his authority and Freckles was glad when she finally left and now she rarely was seen at the dojo.  Freckles hoped that rats would eat her bed.

Purring to himself, he settled down in his mistress’s room and devoured his kill.  His mistress and the others of the house had been gone for several days now and Freckles was slightly concerned about this, the last time they had left it was an entire cycle of the moon before they returned.  But like then a strange man would come to the dojo and provided Freckles with food so Freckles was aware that his mistress had simply found someone else to provide the daily homage that he required.  Still he longed for their companionship (thought he would never admit this to them) and so to show his love for his mistress he took the head of the rat and placed it in front of small table where his mistress would perform her daily grooming ritual.  Then content that he had done his duty and secure in the knowledge that if his mistress didn’t return soon he could always eat the head later, he curled up on the pile of blankets and bedding, wishing that his mistress was there so she could spread his bed out so that he could properly stretch out. 

He carefully groomed himself, paying special attention to his whiskers and face, once he had carefully cleaned every inch of himself he curled up, tucking his paws and curling his tail around his body, he laid his head down, ready for a nap before the sun rose.  The sound of a door sliding back brought him to full wakefulness and his head shot upright as his ears twitched towards the direction of the sound of voices that filled the house.

“Thank goodness, we’re home.  I say we deal with life in the morning and just sleep,” Freckles identified the voice as Brat’s.

“This one would have to agree, it was a long trip even with catching a boat to Yokohama,” another voice Freckles identified as Kenshin sighed.

“Oh come on you two, it was only nineteen and a half miles back to Tokyo from Yokohama,” Freckles mistress chirped up cheerfully and Freckles was on his feet trotting out to greet her.

“Wonderful, you can tell me how great it was while you smoother me with my pillow,” Brat groaned as he shuffled down the hallway to his room.  He didn’t pay attention to get out of Freckles’ way, who was on his way to greet his mistress, and rudely tripped over Freckles.  “Freckles, watch where you’re going!” Brat yelled.

Freckles yowled angrily at him, flicking his ears back in annoyance before he continued down the hallway towards the light.  Freckles trotted happily into the family room to see his mistress smiling brightly as she prepared to go back to her room, he was surprised to see her left arm bound up in a sling, he wondered briefly if this was some new way to play with him but wasn’t sure how that could be.  Freckles immediately walked up to her and rubbed her legs to inform her that he wanted his bed laid out and for her to properly warm it for him. 

“Hello Freckles,” his mistress greeted him with a rub under the chin and Freckles purred louder at her touch.  “Well guess we should get some sleep,” his mistress finished with a quick glance at Kenshin.

“I’ll lock up Karou-dono, you just get to bed,” Kenshin told her and Freckle’s mistress nodded and followed at Freckles urging to their room where she promptly laid out his bed and arranged the covers to his liking before she proceeded to remove her extra layers of fur.  She turned to the small table where Freckles had laid her offering next to and wrinkled up her face.

“Freckles will you please finish eating what you kill?” she asked as she grabbed the head in a cloth and opened the outer door to the courtyard and threw the head out into the night.

 _I guess I get to have it for breakfast then._   Freckles thought, not even concerning himself with his mistress’s actions, for the moment as he continently kneaded the blankets on his bed before his mistress slid under the covers to warm his bed, blew out the light, and stroked his back a few times before she closed her eyes and went to sleep.  Freckles finally settled down, curling up next to his mistress’s warm body, ready for his nap.

***

Kaoru hummed tunelessly under her breath as she brushed her hair into some semblance of order before pulling it back into a high ponytail with a bright pink hair ribbon.  It was difficult with only one hand so finally she gave up and with a grimace of pain used her left arm to help tie the knot before she slipped it back into its sling with a sigh of relief.  _Well this arm is going to be a pain for awhile, it better be healed by the tournament or I’m screwed._   She pulled the cover off of her small hand mirror to check and make sure that she looked all right before standing up and walking out to face the day.  She padded down the hallway in her tabi, still humming softly to herself.  She noticed that Yahiko’s door was slightly ajar so she knocked on the wood softly before sliding the door back a little to look in.  Yahiko was busy rolling up his futon and putting it away for the day.

“Morning Yahiko!” Kaoru said happily.

“Morning tanuki,” he replied in a sleepy tone. 

Kaoru shook her head at the boy, “come on lazy, let’s see what we can scrape together for breakfast okay?  Then we need to make a plan of attack for the rest of the day.”  With that Kaoru made her way down the hall to Kenshin’s room.  She knocked on the door and listened for a reply but heard nothing.  She knocked again and called his name but still nothing.  Finally, she slid his door back to see his bed neatly folded and put away and his sakabato left on the stack of bedding.  _He must be up already and around here somewhere,_ Kaoru shrugged, closed the door and made her way outside to the garden to see what was ripe.  She walked up and down the rows of vegetables picking any eggplant, cabbage, onions, or cucumbers that looked ripe and put them in a basket she had brought with her.  She brought them all into the kitchen were Yahiko was waiting, wiping the sleep from his eyes with a yawn.  Kaoru directed Yahiko to fetch her some water and help in cleaning the vegetables. 

“Yahiko, where’s Kenshin this morning?” Kaoru asked as she pulled a large wok down to stir-fry the vegetables while Yahiko was peeling the cucumbers.

“Oh he came in this morning before dawn to tell me to tell you that he was leav-…” Yahiko paused for a yawn before continuing.  “…-ing to see if he could scrounge up some kind of work, like laboring on a farm or something.  He said if he couldn’t find anything he should be back by early afternoon at the latest, otherwise he found work and he’ll be back when he can.”

“Did he have something to eat before he left, and did he take some food with him then?” Kaoru asked, looking around the little kitchen for any signs that it had been used that morning but everything was in its usual place.

Yahiko shrugged, “what do I look like, a physic or something?  I’m sure if he gets hungry he’ll scrounge something up.”

“With what his charming good looks?” Kaoru asked with a raised eyebrow.  “You know as well as I do that it took every sen that all of us, including Sanosuke, could put together to have enough money to make it back to Tokyo after that whole incident with the Kairyu pirates.  Speaking of pirates,” Kaoru glanced around the kitchen, “I’m surprised Sanosuke hasn’t shown up hoping to scrounge some food from us.”

“At this time of the morning?” Yahiko asked in disbelief.  “I don’t think Sanosuke knows how to wake up at this time of the day.  When he does get breakfast from us it’s usually because he’s been up all night and it’s his dinner.  Gosh Kaoru, didn’t you know that?”

Kaoru wrinkled her face at the news as she chopped up vegetables quickly and dumped them into the wok while also stocking a fire under the stove while Yahiko was still struggling to peel cucumbers.  “I hadn’t really thought about it Yahiko, but I’m not really surprised by it.  Sanosuke is almost as lazy as you.”

“Hey, I’m not lazy!” Yahiko protested, finally fishing peeling one cucumber and moving on to the second.

“Anyways,” Kaoru continued as she started cooking the vegetables with the few seasonings and soy sauce still remaining in the kitchen, a little hindered by the fact she was limited to one hand.  “We have a serious problem, it will be 5 days till I get paid and we need to scrap something together before then to buy some food or these next few days aren’t going to be any fun at all.”

“I can go to the Akabeko after this and let them know I’m back and see if I can pick up any shifts,” Yahiko offered.  “It won’t be much but it’s something.”

“And Kenshin’s apparently off looking for work,” Kaoru counted on her fingers, “Sanosuke’s no help, he’s going to have to mooch off of someone else for a few days at least.  I can go with you into town, I did promise Tae I would come and see her when I got back, and I still need to get the extra key from them.  After that I can always ask around and see if I can find any kind of work too.  Between the three of us, someone should be able to come up with something.”

“That’s true,” Yahiko mused, “Team Kenshin may be poor at the moment but after you win that tournament next month you’ll get tons of students and then we won’t have problems with money for a long time, if ever.”  Yahiko ended with a grin.

“That would be nice,” Kaoru sighed, she didn’t want to tell the boy that the approaching tournament had been worrying her to the point where it was sometimes hard to sleep at night, a problem that was getting more frequent the closer that the tournament got.  She had never participated in a tournament like this before, always avoiding these situations.  It was one thing for her to go and teach at a dojo where she knew the master personally and they didn’t treat her with the smug contempt most others did when they learned she was a master of kenjutsu.  Kaoru hated having to prove herself to every misogynistic dojo master she met.

“Kaoru are you cooking that or burning it?” Yahiko asked with heavy sarcasm and Kaoru looked down to see a growing cloud of smoke rising from the wok as the vegetables were turning black.

“Yikes,” Kaoru quickly snatched the wok away from the stove and stirred the vegetables up hoping that she had at least minimized the damage.

“Good thing this isn’t a cooking competition, ‘cause then we’d all be doomed,” Yahiko sighed.

***

Kaoru parted ways with Yahiko at the door to the Akabeko and Yahiko went straight in, making his way to the kitchen in the back.

“Welcome to the Akabeko can I…” the girl blushed when she recognized Yahiko and she lowered her eyes shyly.  “Oh Yahiko-kun, it’s you.  I thought you were going to be gone for longer,” Tsubame’s eyelashes fluttered back to look at Yahiko.

“Change of plans,” Yahiko shrugged.  “The ship was attacked by pirates before we made it to our destination.  Anyways, we’re all back in town, I was just stopping by to see if they need any extra help.” Yahiko couldn’t help bragging to Tsubame about his exploits with the pirates as he had a crush on her since they first met.

“You fought with pirates!” Tsubame gasped in surprise. 

“Oh yeah,” Yahiko started glowing, glad of such an opportunity to tell Tsubame all about how the ship he had been helping to guard with Kenshin and Sanosuke had been attacked by one of the most violent pirate groups around.  And how Kaoru, who had been serving only as a cook’s assistant on the ship, had also joined in to help in fending off the pirates.  Yahiko had been looking forward to telling Tsubame all about the affair, how Kenshin had been taken prisoner by the leader of the pirates and how he with Sanosuke, and Kaoru had gone after Kenshin to rescue him.  He knew that Tsubame would love to hear the tale, and he was going to emphasize his whole role in the affair of course, but he was unfortunately cut off as a customer entered the store and Tsubame immediately glanced to the family that had come in behind Yahiko.

“Will you tell me later, maybe when I get my break in an hour?” Tsubame asked softly.

“Oh yeah sure, I’ll just get out of your way,” Yahiko responded quickly, moving to the side so that Tsubame could greet the customers and show them to a table.  Yahiko sighed at his lost opportunity to impress Tsubame, but consoled in the fact that he could always tell her the story later.

“Hey boy, can I ask you a quick question?”

Yahiko nearly jumped out of his skin as he spun to face the owner of the voice, a young girl who only looked to be a few years older than Yahiko.  She had sparkling blue eyes and long hair that was neatly braided back and reached to the back of her knees.  She was dressed in a simple blue kimono tucked into a black andonbakama.  Yahiko had never seen a women dressed like this aside from the shrine maidens, but they wore white and red. 

“Umm sure, what do you need?”  Yahiko asked, wondering how this girl had managed to sneak up behind him so easily.

“I was wondering if you had ever heard of Sakara Ose?  She’s an old friend of mine whose part of a caravan, I was supposed to meet her here in Tokyo because she said there might be an opening for another cook in the caravan but I must have missed her.”  The girl asked in a chipper voice.

“Nope never heard of her,” Yahiko shrugged.

“Oh,” the girl’s face fell.  “Have you ever heard of the merchant Tsukamoto?  He’s the one who owns the caravan, they deal in shipping of iron ore mainly,” the girl asked hopefully.

Yahiko shrugged, “sorry, but if you go back out, follow the street to your left till you hit the river, take a right over the bridge and a left at the next main thoroughfare there’s a bunch of smiths over there and they might be able to help you.”

“Okay, thanks a lot,” the girl beamed at him before she ran out the door with a burst of energy, her braid swinging wildly from side to side with her movements.

After living with Kaoru, Yahiko didn’t notice anything strange in the way the girl moved effortlessly through the crowded street or the faint metallic click when she first spun away from him.  In fact, he forgot about the girl almost the moment that he turned and made his way back to the kitchen to ask if they would need any help for the next couple of days.

***

 “Hey Tae how have you been?” Kaoru greeted happily after Tae’s mother-in-law, Chiyoko, had shown Kaoru back to the kitchen where Tae was busy preparing what looked to Kaoru like five different dishes.  Tae had been busy preparing and chopping vegetables when she looked up at her friend.

“You have some serious explaining to do Kaoru,” Tae shouted in anger, raising her knife and pointing it at Kaoru.  “And what happened to your arm?” She asked pointing to the sling.

Kaoru stopped in the doorway with wide eyes.  She wondered if Tae’s strange mood had anything to do with her pregnancy and now being trapped in the house with her mother-in-law since neither of them could stand the other.  “I got shot by pirates.  And Tae what do I have to explain?  And can you please put that knife down?” Kaoru laughed hesitantly, raising her hands in front of herself.

Tae swung the knife hard enough into the cutting board that it stuck into the wood and she crossed her arms, glaring at her friend.  “You going to sit down?” Tae asked crossly.  She didn’t make a mention of the news that Kaoru was shot by pirates, it barely even registered to Tae as something odd for Kaoru to have said.

Kaoru smiled hesitantly and sat down, making sure there was a safe distance between her and Tae, mentally calculating how much of a head start she would need to get away from Tae in case their conversation turned violent.  “Tae, what did I do?” Kaoru asked, thinking that was a good place to start.

“What’s this about you not getting paid by Maekawa-san and then thinking you could go for a whole month on nothing but the three day’s wages you borrowed from us?”  Tae asked in forced calm.  “I know that what Yahiko makes is nowhere near enough to feed everyone, and I know that you’ve been letting Kenshin-san stay at your dojo for free and he has no job.  So I ask you, what in the world were you thinking?!  You couldn’t feed yourself for a month on three days wages, let alone three people and the gods only know how many other people you hand food out to.”

“Oh is that all,” Kaoru laughed, a little relived.  _For a second there I thought this was going to be something important._

“What are you laughing about?” Tae scolded, wagging her finger at Kaoru.  “This isn’t a laughing matter, why didn’t you tell me what was going on?”

Kaoru sighed, “we were getting along fine and then we found this great job that should have more than covered us and allowed me to pay back what I borrowed no problem but then it kind of fell through.  That’s why I didn’t tell you before.”

“That is not an excuse,” Tae snapped.  “You are doing it again Kaoru.  Why is it that you only open up to people when things are going fine for you?  You know people will help you when you’re having problems if you just tell them these things instead of always putting on an act.”

“Look I _can_ handle things, we’ll get through this, you’ll see,” Kaoru started defensively.  “Besides how did you even find out all of this anyways?”

Tae looked away, biting her lip, “your weasel relative apparently showed up at the shop asking where you were while you were off on that job.  He’s been keeping tabs on you it seems and he’s probably going to try and get you to sell the school, again.”

Kaoru let out a noise that was something like a strangled scream, “well fine if he wants to waste his time and mine making the offer I can’t stop him.”

“Kaoru, I hate to say this but you may have to consider selling the school.”

“NO, never,” Kaoru hissed through clenched teeth.  “I will never, ever, sell the school to that filthy waste of a human being.”

“I didn’t mean him,” Tae replied with a roll of her eyes.  “The only thing I would ever give that man is a fatal disease.  But Kaoru if you can’t get students soon how are you going to support yourself, let alone the others?  The wages you earn now teaching at Maekawa-san’s dojo can’t be your only source of income, especially not with the other’s living with you.  I really have no idea how you’ve scrapped by until now.  But from the sound of it, your school is on some prime land, you could make a good profit selling it.  Then you would be able to…”

“I will never sell the school,” Kaoru yelled, cutting her friend off.  Tae drew back a little from the look of frantic desperation in Kaoru’s eyes.  Kaoru closed her eyes and took three deep breaths, trying to calm herself down before continuing.  “We’ve been through this Tae, you, Doctor Gensei, Master Maekawa, all my friends from the dojo, every single person I ever known has said the same thing after Papa died.  You all told me that there was no way a girl, especially one of my age could keep the school going, but I did.  How many times over the years have you and the others told me that?  How many times when I was struggling to make ends meet have you tried to convince me to sell the school and give up?  I’ve proved to you before that I can make it through anything and I’m not giving up now!”  Kaoru had started her speech in a mostly calm tone but she grew louder and more emotional with each passing word.  She was angry and frustrated that once again the people closest to her were urging her to give up the only life she had ever known or wanted.

“Kaoru…” Tae started softly pleading.

“No Tae,” Kaoru told her firmly, tears starting to form in her eyes.  “We are not having this conversation now or ever.  My home is the dojo, and my life is that school.  I will never give up my family home.”

***

Yahiko filled his bowl up with another scoop of rice and happily chowed down.  Kaoru was eating her food with a far off look in her eyes.  After Yahiko had reported at the Akabeko and arranged times to come and work later on that week before he had met up with Kaoru who was leaving Tae’s home.  They stopped in the market had bought some rice and other foodstuffs with the money that Tae had forced on Kaoru before she left.

“It was really great that Tae loaned you some more money and all.  This sure beats starving,” Yahiko exclaimed happily.  He stuffed his mouth so full that his cheeks started to bugle before he realized that he had received no response from Kaoru.  He concentrated on chewing and swallowing.  “Hey did you hear me?”  He made a face as Kaoru continued to chew her food absently, staring off into nothing.  “Earth to Kaoru.”  Still no response.  “Kenshin’s having a torrent affair with Megumi, just thought you should know.”

“Huh?” Kaoru asked, finally tuning into the fact that Yahiko was speaking.

 _Well we can all see where her interests lie,_ Yahiko rolled his eyes, “I have been trying to say that it was great of Tae to loan you some more money.”

“Oh, yeah, it’s great,” Kaoru stabbed her food with unnecessary violence with her chopsticks before taking another bite.

“You okay tanuki, you have a fight with Tae or something?”  Yahiko asked in concern.

“Just forget it Yahiko,” Kaoru set her half-eaten bowl of food down, about to clean up from the meal.

“Oh no you don’t,” Yahiko grabbed her bowl of food and held it up to Kaoru.  “Kenshin would have my butt if he knew I didn’t make you finish your lunch.  Especially after that whole starving thing that you did before, I’m under orders here, so eat it.”  Kaoru glared at Yahiko and Yahiko flinched back.  “I would really appreciate if you finished your food, please?”  He begged in a softer tone than before.

With a frustrated sigh, Kaoru sat back down, grabbed her bowl and finished her food.

“Anyone home?”

Kaoru and Yahiko glanced up at the familiar sound of Doctor Gensei’s voice.  They quickly got up and walked outside to greet the elderly man.  Kaoru started a little to see Master Maekawa was also with him.  “Doctor Gensei, Master Maekawa, what a surprise to see you both.  I guess you heard we were back from the grapevine.  Can I offer you something to eat or drink?  Yahiko and I just finished lunch and there’s some left over if you’re interested.”  Kaoru greeted happily, her previous frustrations seeming to fall away like rain.  Yahiko never ceased to be amazed at how quickly Kaoru could change moods.

“No thank you,” Master Maekawa waved off her offer with one hand.

‘What happened to you?” Doctor Gensei asked in concern when he saw Kaoru’s arm.

“Got shot by pirates but its fine, are you sure you don’t want anything?” Kaoru replied cheerfully.

“May we have a private word with you Kaoru-chan?” Doctor Gensei added in a serious voice, his eyes never leaving Kaoru’s face.  “I’m afraid we have something serious to discuss.”  He decided to deal with her latest injury at a later time.

“Umm sure, clean up in the kitchen Yahiko,” she ordered before she disappeared into the house with Doctor Gensei and Master Maekawa.

Grumbling, Yahiko shuffled into the kitchen and started to clean up, musing on why Doctor Gensei and Master Maekawa would both want to speak to Kaoru alone so badly.  Finally, the curiosity as to what was going on overcame his fear of what Kaoru would do to him if she found the task half done.  He crept on silent feet up to the outer door of Kaoru’s room where the three were talking.

“…so that slime ball talked to both of you as well?  When is he going to learn to take no for an answer?” Kaoru snapped in anger.

“This coming from you Kaoru-chan?”  Doctor Gensei cut in. 

“Kaoru-kun,” Master Maekawa joined in, his tone earnest.  “I know that all you want to do is to keep this school running and for the past five years you have done an impressive job.  But I’m afraid that no matter how well you do in this tournament that it won’t change the fact that most people still think of this as the ‘Battosai’ school after that whole affair last February with Gohia Hiruma trying to ruin you.  Most people don’t know or care what the real story is, they will only believe the rumors.  And besides, to be perfectly honest I’m afraid that most potential students would never see past the fact that you are a woman to realize how much you could teach them, you should at least consider the possibility of…”

“As I have already told Tae earlier, I will never sell this school!” Kaoru yelled.

“Kaoru-chan, this isn’t like when you had problems in the past,” Doctor Gensei’s voice urging, trying to make Kaoru listen to reason.  “The situation is only getting worse day by day.  You can’t keep living like this.  We want to help you but you are going to have to face the harsh reality that you may very well have to sell this school.”

“I would sooner rot for a thousand years in hell then to see my family home in the hands of anyone else!” Kaoru retorted.  “If you both just came here to tear me down then I’m afraid this conversation is over, I have better uses for my time.  I have work to do, I trust you both can see yourselves out.”

Yahiko nearly jumped out of his skin when Kaoru suddenly flung the outer door open and Yahiko blanched when he saw Kaoru’s livid face.  Kaoru didn’t say a word about Yahiko’s eavesdropping.  She just stalked right past him to the kitchen.  Yahiko turned towards Doctor Gensei and Master Maekawa and shrugged with a nervous grin hoping that no one would say anything about his breech in manners by snooping around.   _Oh this is awkward,_ Yahiko thought to himself, trying not to shift his feet in guilt.

Doctor Gensei and Master Maekawa both got to their feet and started walking out with a shake of their heads before Yahiko got up the courage to ask a question.  “Are things really as bad as all that?  I mean would Kaoru really have to sell this school if she can’t get some students soon?” Yahiko asked.

They looked at him in surprise, “you mean you don’t really know about the situation?” Master Maekawa asked in surprise.

Yahiko shook his head, “Kaoru never says a thing when things are going wrong, she just clams up and smiles like everything is all right.  It took us a couple of weeks to find out about the whole tax thing.”

Doctor Gensei shook his head, “one of her most annoying traits, keeping such things to herself and thinking she can handle it on her own.”

“Yes Yahiko, things really are as bad as all that, times are getting harder and she is going to have to make some very painful decisions if things don’t turn around soon,” Master Maekawa shook his head sadly.  “I’m doing what I can for the girl but I have a family of my own to think of, and my own concerns.  The simple fact is that soon what little help we can give won’t be enough.”

Yahiko gulped, understanding everything.  “But there’s one thing I don’t get, is why you two don’t believe in Kaoru more?” he reacted in sudden anger, surprising even himself.  “Kaoru can win the tournament, and she will get this school going again.  Okay yeah, her being a girl is one of her big character flaws but if potential students are so shallow that they can’t see past that then she doesn’t need them as a student.  And don’t count on me to help you to convince her to sell this place because it’s my home too and I’m going to do what I can to see that Kaoru never has to sell this place!”  Yahiko yelled at them before turning and running off.  He stopped next to the well behind the house and sat down, doing some serious thinking about what he could potentially do.  He waited until he heard the gate close and knew that Doctor Gensei and Master Maekawa had left before he went into the kitchen, firmly intending on doing whatever he had to in order to help Kaoru get the school back on its feet.  Kaoru had started scouring the pans, unshed tears in her eyes.

“So I heard about them wanting you to sell the school and all,” Yahiko started.  Kaoru paused for a moment before she started scrubbing again with more force than needed.  “I realize that I could be doing more to try and recruit some students.  I’ve met a few people working at the Akabeko, sons or brothers of some of the girls who work there mainly, I’ll try talking to them and seeing if any of them are interested in learning kendo, or know anyone who is.  Heck I’ll go door to door if I have to.”

Kaoru stopped scrubbing, looked up at Yahiko, and blinked in surprise.  “What?”

Yahiko picked up a towel and started drying the dishes and putting them away.  “This is my home too Kaoru.  And frankly I’m tired of having to move as much as I have.  I want to stay so I’m going to chip in as much as I can,” he turned back with a boyish grin.  “You might have been on your own before Kaoru but you’ve got me around here, I’ll make sure you get more students if I have to kick the crap out of them myself.”

Kaoru’s mouth twitched into a half smile, “you ever going to grow up Yahiko?”

“Sure, when you become a lady,” Yahiko teased back.  _And we both know that’s never going to happen._


	3. The Bonds of Family

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FYI, the scene talking about Kenshin and the roof is real life inspiration from something that happened to my father (and we gave him crap endlessly for it since he's the super smart engineer who can solve complex math problems in his head but forgets about something simple like gravity).

**Chapter 2**

**The Bonds of Family**

Akio hit the wall with a thud that left him stunned, too stun to dodge the next punch that caught him in the stomach and made him double over in pain.  The next blow hit him in the side of his face and knocked him to the ground where he caught himself out of reflex with stinging palms against the hard packed ground.

“Aren’t you even going to fight back you wimp?” the gang of boys taunted him.  One kicked Akio on the ground and Akio grunted in pain before pulling himself to his knees.  He aimed a punch with his right hand at his nearest attacker, the leader of the gang, the boy merely caught his arm and twisted to the side before Akio’s blow fell.  In the same motion, the leader elbowed Akio hard across the face, the force of which would have sent him back to the ground if the boy wasn’t still holding on to his arm.   The leader then twisted Akio’s arm into an elbow joint lock and jerked his wrist down until he dislocated the wrist and Akio screamed in pain.

“Someone get this wimp’s money and let’s get out of here,” the leader laughed.  “This kid screams like a girl.”

The others laughed as they rifled through Akio’s clothes until they were sure they had gotten everything of value from the boy.  Akio didn’t even try and fight back, feeling shamed and humiliated. 

“Next time don’t try and fight back and we’ll only rough you up a little,” the leader laughed as he and the other boys walked out of the little alleyway and out into the open street.

Akio felt the tears of pain and embarrassment slid down his cheeks, he wiped them away quickly with his left hand and holding his right hand close to his body he pulled himself to his feet and started to make his way home.

***

Kenshin walked into the house late that afternoon as though returning from some great battle.  He was covered in dirt and straw and slightly hunched over as though his back was hurting him.

“Kenshin what the heck happened to you?” Yahiko asked, looking up from where he was scrubbing the floors on Kaoru’s order.

“It was a long day,” Kenshin grimaced as he carefully sat down out of the way of where Yahiko was working.  “This one forgot how little fun field work is.”

Yahiko threw his rag into the bucket of water and stared at Kenshin.  “You want anything Kenshin?  Something to eat or drink?  A hot bath?  A warm compress?  Your sword so you can end it all?  Anything?”

Kenshin thought about it carefully for a moment, “all of that sounds good except for the last one,” _though I might consider that tomorrow if it’s like today._

Yahiko grinned and stuck his head out the door, “Kaoru!  Kenshin’s back and he wants food!”  Yahiko yelled in the general direction of the backyard where Kaoru was tending to the garden.  “I’ll get the bath ready for you and see if I can dig up a hot compress too,” Yahiko assured Kenshin before he disappeared.

Kenshin didn’t even care, the pain radiating through his neck and upper back made him just want to sit there and forget everything.  He didn’t have long before Kaoru walked into the room, wiping the dirt from her hands onto the apron she was wearing. 

“Kenshin you’re back!  Gee what happened to you?” Kaoru paused her greeting when she took a good look at Kenshin’s appearance. 

“Long story,” Kenshin sighed.

“I like long stories,” Kaoru plopped down next to Kenshin, amazed by his current state.

“Well to sum up the day, this one found work and things were going all right until the roof of the building I was helping to tear down fell on this one’s head.”

“A roof fell on your head?” Kaoru gasped in surprise.

“Twice actually,” Kenshin replied, holding up two fingers to emphasize his point.

Kaoru shook her head, “well we managed to get some food today, are you hungry?  I can make something for you if you’d like.”

“That’ll be nice,” Kenshin sighed.  As he listened to Kaoru leave he wondered how Sanosuke had been faring since they got back to Tokyo, knowing that he would be just as hard pressed as they were.  _I hope his day has been half as miserable as mine has been,_ Kenshin thought glumly.

***

Sanosuke ate through the tray of food that had been brought out to him with relish, saving the fine cuisine as he watched the sun set over the wall of the expansive garden, which even included a small coy pond and fountain.  The music of wind chimes filled the air mingling with the bird song as day slowly drew to a close and twilight descended.  _Man I live some kind of charmed life, that’s the only explanation for it._   Sanosuke thought with a grin. 

When he had first gotten back to Tokyo and parted ways with Kenshin and the other’s, who made their way to Kaoru’s dojo, he had first headed to his little room in the Ruffian Row.  He had glumly come to the conclusion that he was going to have to hit up some of his friends for some cash and/or food in order to make ends meet for a while since his stash of money was finally gone.  He hoped that he would also be able to confiscate Kenshin at least for a little while to help him make a little money gambling.  He knew that Kenshin would drag his feet and protest the whole time but he figured that if he promised Kenshin some of the winnings to take back to Kaoru he might agree. 

It was much to Sanosuke’s surprise when he found a notice tacked to his door asking for him to come as soon as possible to the address listed since a man named Mayeda had work for him.  Sanosuke shrugged, while he technically didn’t work as a fighter-for-hire anymore (having given that up after his fight with Kenshin 4 months before) he still got random jobs that he technically didn’t classify a fighter-for-hire work.  Usually guard duty or recovering some token that would lead to embarrassment by the owner.  Usually these jobs included a fight of some kind but since they weren’t the main reason he was hired Sanosuke just considered the fights as an added bonus.

This job definitely had some bonuses as far as Sanosuke could see as the lady of the house, the wife of Mayeda, Natsumi, wandered out of the house for an after-dinner stroll of the gardens.  Her eyes glanced Sanosuke’s direction with a secretive smile before a maid joined her mistress and they started to meander through the walkways of the garden.  Sanosuke watched Natsumi’s figure with interest, he didn’t particularly care how rich the fabric of her kimono or the amount of jewelry she wore except for how it accented her figure. 

He grinned the more he thought about the job he had been hired to do.  He hadn’t been so sure when he had first meet the merchant, Mayeda, a wrinkled up old man who looked about two steps from his grave.  The merchant had been concerned, since he was having to make an important business trip to the north of Japan to expand his ventures, about leaving his wife for two weeks of his journey.  Personally, Sanosuke thought the merchant would have been better worrying if _he_ was going to survive the trip rather than worrying about his wife.  The man was hiring him since the house next to theirs had been burglarized the month before, no one had been hurt but the man was still concerned that if the burglars decided to target his house while he was away they might hurt his wife.  So Sanosuke was hired to be the guard, he was to stop any thieves, and most especially, to see that no harm came to the man’s wife.

When Sanosuke had first met Natsumi Mayeda, he had expected a wrinkled hag of a women to match her husband, the woman who greeted him was far from it.  Sanosuke guessed her to be anywhere from 25-28 years old, she had dark and flirtatious eyes and Sanosuke wondered what a woman like her was doing with a man like her husband.  Still he was a perfect gentleman, until her husband left, now he had no problems enjoying the view whenever he saw fit.  _The husband really should have though twice before allowing some strange young man into his house with orders to watch a woman like that and make sure she’s safe.  But then at his age he probably has forgotten all about being young._ Sanosuke thought with a happy grin, still watching Natsumi without shame as she walked through the garden with her maid.  He could see from the way she glanced his direction that she was well aware of his attention but it didn’t seem to bother her so Sanosuke had no plans on stopping. _Oh yeah this has been a great day, hope things are going as well for Kenshin and the others…_

_***_

Kaoru pulled another hot compress for Kenshin out of the oven and wrapped it in a towel before she took it to where Kenshin was sitting in the front room.  “Here’s another one,” she offered, holding out the compress to Kenshin.  Kenshin gratefully took it and wrapped it around his neck.  “Is that helping at all?” Kaoru asked in concern.

Kenshin nodded happily, “This one is feeling much better now,” he assured her happily.  _Another three hours of this and I might be half alive._

Kaoru smiled, Kenshin was looking better after some food, bath, and change of clothes.  He was starting to sit up straighter and was no longer holding his neck as though it pained him.  “Well just let me know when that one starts cooling down and I’ll heat another one up for you.”

“All right I’m coming in, stop any huggy feely crap please,” Yahiko announced before he came stomping into the room.  Kaoru rolled her eyes and Kenshin sighed.  “So today was fun, Kaoru borrowed some money, I got some shifts at the Akabeko starting tomorrow and Kenshin managed to get a roof to fall on him twice.  I can remember the good old days when making a sen was easier than this, you just had to be sure to outrun the guy if he caught you taking his purse.”  Yahiko mused before he flopped on the floor.

“Well now that we’re all here we should probably talk about how we are going to handle this situation, at least until we get some students around here and then we won’t need the outside work,” Kaoru announced in a ringing voice.  “Yahiko you have work at the Akabeko, I can spend some time looking for anything as well since Kenshin’s going and looking for field work tomorrow is out of the question, but if he’s up to it he could do some work around the house.”

“Wait a minute Kaoru-dono,” Kenshin cut in, “I will go out tomorrow and you should stay here and see to the things around here, that you should.  Besides your shoulder is still hurt from where you were shot by the pirates, you shouldn’t strain yourself if you want to have it healed by the tournament.”

“Kenshin you came home today barely able to lift your head, and you want to go right back out tomorrow morning?” Kaoru asked in disbelief.

“Yes I do Kaoru-dono,” Kenshin responded in a slightly harder tone, “the owner of the farm today assured all of us since we worked so hard today that if we showed up tomorrow he would guarantee us at least one more day of work.”

“Oh just let him go Kaoru,” Yahiko wined.

“Excuse me?” Kaoru snapped turning to face Yahiko.

“If you don’t let Kenshin go, then he’ll just sneak out of here and go anyways, it’s exactly what you would do so just give him a break.”

Kaoru’s face pursed, “fine you want to have another roof fall on you again then knock yourself out Kenshin.  And yes I’m well aware of the pun.”  Kaoru added before anyone commented on it.

“Has anyone seen Sanosuke since we’ve gotten back?” Kenshin asked.

“Not hide or hair, he’s probably hitting up some of his other friends for a quick meal, you know how that guy is.  He wouldn’t know honest work if it danced in front of him naked.”  Yahiko shook his head.

“You’re right about that,” Kenshin laughed.  “Well this one is sure that he will find a way to make ends meet, no matter how many friends he’ll have to mooch off of.”

“Lousy freeloader,” Kaoru grumbled.

Kenshin grinned and the conversation turned to happier topics.  Early the next morning, before the sun was starting to rise, Kenshin woke up and dressed in the darkness before starting to make his way to the farm of the man who had hired him the day before, hoping to get another day’s wages to bring home to Kaoru.  He was surprised as he was leaving to see a light burning in the kitchen, puzzled, and thinking that someone might have left a lantern burning from the night before, he stuck his head in the kitchen to see Kaoru packing up a small box with food.  She was still in her under-kimono from sleeping with a robe wrapped around her for modesty, her hair pulled back in a sleeping braid and mussed from the night.

“Kaoru-dono, what are you doing up so early?” Kenshin asked in surprise.  He knew that she tended to be an early riser but this was extreme even for her.

“I was packing you some lunch and made you some miso soup for breakfast,” she said, turning to a pot on the stove and spooning out a bowl full of the soup.  “Unlike yesterday I didn’t want you to be working all day and have nothing to eat.”  Kaoru handed the bowl to Kenshin, “drink all that up, I’ll finish packing your lunch,” she ordered.

Kenshin sipped the soup, noting that it could use some more salt and discreetly added some while Kaoru had her back turned before he finished off the contents of the bowl.  “Are you all right Kaoru-dono, you seem a bit on edge since we got back,” Kenshin asked in concern, setting down the now empty bowl as Kaoru strapped the box closed with a length of rope before handing it to Kenshin. 

“Just stuff going on, didn’t Yahiko tell you what happened yesterday?” Kaoru asked in surprise.

Kenshin shook his head, “maybe it slipped his mind, what’s wrong Kaoru-dono?”

Kaoru bit her lip, “just stuff, I’ll tell you later, you don’t want to be late, don’t give them an excuse not to give you a full day’s wages.”

“You promise that you’ll tell this one later?”  Kenshin asked.

Kaoru smiled at him, “cross my heart and hope to die, now go make money before I have to kick you out into the streets,” she teased him, pushing him to the gate.

“Yahiko’s right, you are a slave driver Kaoru-dono,” Kenshin joked back.

“Just try not to have a roof fall on your head again today,” Kaoru yelled out as Kenshin walked through the gate.  Kaoru went back into the house and dressed, the sun was just starting to peek over the horizon when she decided to wake Yahiko up.  She figured since she was up and moving he should be too and they could get work started for the day.  She slid open the door to his room, “Yahiko, time to rise and-” Kaoru stopped in horror at the sight before her.  She felt her heart start to shutter in terror and for a moment she had trouble breathing.

“YAHIKO MYOJIN!” she screamed at the top of her lungs and Yahiko sat bolt upright in bed, his face just as horrified as hers was, though for very different reasons.  “What is this?!” Kaoru demanded, waving her hand to take in the whole of Yahiko’s room.

Yahiko glanced around, seeing nothing amiss, all his clothes and things were exactly where he had dropped them on the floor the day before.  Other odds and ends were also scattered on the floor like they had been when he went to sleep.  “My room?” he asked in surprise, “what time is it?  It’s still dark outside.” He commented with a yawn while he scratched his head.

“This isn’t a room, this is what happens after a typhoon hits,” Kaoru retorted, ignoring the boy’s question as she picked up the clothes Yahiko had sprawled around the room.  “Are these clothes dirty or clean?” she demanded shaking the clothes in his face.

Yahiko grabbed the corner of the two kimonos she held, pulled it up to his face and gave both a sniff, “this one’s clean and the other’s dirty,” Yahiko replied gesturing to the one he was speaking of.

Kaoru started making strangling noises.  “Yahiko Myojin you are going to clean this room right this instance, you are going to make sure all your dirty clothes are placed in the laundry basket like they are supposed to be, and then you are going to properly fold all of your clothes.  If you do not do this, or if I see even one misfolded hakama or kimono, just one pleat or one collar turned wrong I swear I am going to tie you to the pear tree outside and spank you till even the thought of sitting down brings you pain.  Do I make myself perfectly clear?” Kaoru told him a chilling tone, her eyes clearly stating that she would follow through with her threat without the slightest hesitation.

“Good morning to you too, crazy old tanuki.  It’s no wonder you’re still single, if this is what a guy has to wake up to in the morning,” Yahiko muttered under his breath.

“Just do it Yahiko, I’ll be inspecting _this_ ,” she gestured to the room in disgust, “later so you better make sure it’s all taken care of.”

She slammed the door shut and Yahiko threw back his covers, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, “At least when I was working for yakuzua they let me sleep in,” he sighed before he pulled himself to his feet and carried out Kaoru’s orders.

***

The lunch rush had finally died down and the girls of the Akabeko were sitting down at one of the tables near the kitchen resting since the last customer had finally left.  As always, they were catching up and exchanging the latest gossip.  The conversation shifted from the latest fashions and gossip of who was seeing who, and who liked who, to one of the girls, Arata, complaining about what was happening to her younger brother.

“…Dad was furious that he let those boys rob him.  It wasn’t so much that he lost his money, after all that’s the money he makes himself selling eggs from his own chickens.  Dad was just mad that he couldn’t stand up for himself, he wishes that Akio was more like his older brothers, no one would ever think of picking on them but Akio’s always been a target.  I know that Dad is just trying to toughen him up but I don’t know how he could say such awful things to the boy when he comes home bruised from head to toe with a busted lip and a dislocated wrist.”

“That’s terrible,” Tsubame gasped, her voice too quiet for the other girls to hear over their conversation.

“Have his brothers tried to help him by protecting him from those bullies?” one of the older girls, Sumiko asked, waving her fan in her face to try and cool off from the summer heat.

“They used to, they would always make sure that no one touched Akio when he was little, but now they are expected to spend so much time in the fields, and Kazuki has that apprenticeship with the smith, they just can’t anymore and Akio’s all on his own.”

“Sounds like he’s going to have to toughen up to me,” Emi added in her hard voice, Tsubame had never really cared for Emi, she was the kind of person who wouldn’t help a man on fire, convinced that he must have done something to deserve it and she couldn’t be bothered to interfere.  Tsubame often found herself wondering what Emi’s three children and husband thought of her attitude.

“Maybe he should try to get some lessons in self-defense from an older boy or something?” Minoru added helpfully, a sidelong look at Emi that clearly told that she couldn’t believe Emi’s attitude, but then most of the girls couldn’t believe how cold Emi could be.

“Maybe Yahiko-kun could help him,” Tsubame spoke up, loud enough that the other girls glance her way in surprise, they were used to Tsubame not saying much, at least that they could hear.  It was rare for her to speak up.  “He’s training to be a swordsman, maybe he could help your brother,” Tsubame offered.  “he’s just back in the kitchen you could ask him, he’s really very good you know.”  Tsubame remember proudly from the time he had helped her several months before when the man who had previously been her father’s lord and hence also her master had tried to get her to help him in robbing the Sekihara family.  Yahiko had singlehandedly defeated the man and his gang, (with only an appearance by Sanosuke and Kenshin to scare off most of the gang).

The women looked at Tsubame for a moment before bursting into laughter, “that boy, he’s almost as small as my little brother who’s three years younger than him!  You must be kidding.  If that boy tried to go up against the kids Arata is talking about he would pulverized.  They must be at least five years older and at least twice his size.”

“Yahiko-kun could take them, and I’m sure he could help your brother learned how to fight on his own,” Tsubame stubbornly protested, her normally subservient manner fading as she stood up for Yahiko, angered that the woman would dismiss him so. “I’m sure of it, besides what harm could it do to ask?”

Akata shrugged, “she has a point, it sure couldn’t do any harm to at least talk to him about it.”  She got to her feet and walked back to the kitchen where Yahiko was scrubbing pots, a spare apron tied around him.  Nobuyuki, Tae’s husband, and his father and uncle were also working on cleaning up the kitchen in the lull.  “You’re Yahiko-chan aren’t you?” Akata asked, havening never formally met the boy before.  Most of the girls who worked the front only knew Yahiko by sight since he was confined to the back and the kitchen.

Yahiko’s head whipped up as he stared with a little resentment at Akata, “my name is Yahiko, but drop the chan stuff.”  _I’m not a little kid, why do people always treat me like I am?_ He fumed.

“You’ve got an attitude boy,” Akata scolded, her eyebrows rising in disapproval.  She took in his small and slim stature and wondered how Tsubame could ever believe this boy could take on a gang of teenagers by himself.  She had seen him when he came and left the restaurant and knew that he usually had a shinai strapped to his back, she was sure that the weapon wouldn’t help him much in a real fight.  But she decided to humor the girl, after all, they had never seen Tsubame so adamant about anything before.  “Listen, personally I’m not sure that you can really help with this but Tsubame in there has been singing your praise’s and I suppose that at least asking wouldn’t do any harm.”

“Tsubame was doing what?” Yahiko asked, flattered that Tsubame had said anything nice about him.

Akata quickly explained the situation, about how her younger brother was being bothered by a group of teenagers and beaten up at least weekly.  “Tsubame said that you might be able to teach my brother to fight on his own so they stop picking on him, is she right?”  Akata concluded.

Yahiko could tell from Akata’s standoffish way of speaking that _she_ clearly didn’t believe it but Yahiko couldn't care less.  Instead, a light bulb went off in his head about how easy this was.  He had told Kaoru that he would try and get some of the boy’s he knew to join the school, he just never thought that anyone would come to him _asking_ to be taught self-defense.

“Sure,” Yahiko answered, going back to scrubbing the pot.  “If your brother’s willing and all that, just tell him to show up to the Kamiya Kenjutsu Dojo on the east side of town near the river, that’s the school I belong too, and he can train there too.”

“Now hold on,” Akata cut him , “we aren’t high class people, we’re just simple folk, my brother wouldn’t be allowed to join any dojo.”

Nobuyuki snorted from where he was cleaning off the stovetop from any food that had spilled on it during cooking.  Yahiko just rolled his eyes, “You don’t know my sensei, it wouldn’t matter if your brother was an ex-pickpocket of the yakuzua, he could join.  Kaoru’s just like that so just send him round.”  _Or a former assassin of the revolution, former fighter-for-hire, heck even opium dealers and pirates, Kaoru does it all._

“But-” Akata started to protest but Nobuyuki’s voice cut her off.

“Yahiko’s right, I know the current master over there,” Nobuyuki told her.  “And besides the Kaymia dojo has never required its students to be from the samurai class even during the Edo period when it was forbidden for others to learn the art of the sword.  While they were never open about letting those from the merchant and even artisan class join the school, they certainly didn’t ask from what class their students came from.”

“How in the world could they get away with that?” Akata asked in curiosity, “wouldn’t they have been severely punished if it was found they were teaching swordsmanship to anyone outside the samurai class?”

“Of course,” Nobuyki replied, “but it has always been the smallest school in the city and so was mostly overlooked, that’s how they got away with it.”

“And now there is no ban on who can learn swords,” Yahiko pointed out, “so there’s no reason why your brother couldn’t join.  And I wouldn’t worry about the cost either, Kaoru can probably work something out with your family.”

“Well there’s no harm with him just going and inquiring I suppose,” Akata sighed.  “Fine I’ll tell my brother to call around there in the next couple of days or so.”

Yahiko went back to scrubbing the pots with a wide grin on his face as Akata rejoined the other ladies.  _So that’s one potential student for Kaoru, now I just need to find a couple more and then Kaoru won’t have to worry about selling the school._

_***_

Yahiko came flying through the doors of the house like a whirlwind.  He had gotten off work at the Akabeko and had his day’s wages in his hand, a grin on his face having gotten to spend a portion of the afternoon talking to Tsubame while she was on break.  He was on a high that Tsubame had stood up for him like she had with the other girls and he was sure that no force in heaven or earth could bring him down from the cloud he was on. 

“Hey Kaoru!” Yahiko called searching through the house for her.  “I’ve got my wages for the day!”  Yahiko tore through the house but didn’t find her, he did a quick search of the grounds but didn’t find Kaoru.  When he stuck his head in the kitchen he found a bowl covered in a cloth and a note with his name sitting on the cold stove.  Yahiko picked up the note and quickly read it.  “So she’s out running some errands huh?” he muttered to himself.  He glanced down when he felt a warm body rub against his legs purring.  Yahiko glanced down at the cat, “No you don’t Freckles, Kaoru made these rice balls for me when I got off work, you even try to steal my food and we’re having roasted cat for dinner,” Yahiko warned the cat, quickly snatching the bowl close to his chest protectively.  While Yahiko didn’t mind Freckles, and would pet the cat when he was being friendly, Yahiko also knew well enough to trust Freckles about as far as he could kick him when it came to food. 

Yahiko walked outside to sit on the porch to eat his snack while Freckles tried desperately to get some of Yahiko’s food either through begging or through thievery.  Yahiko kept Freckles away with his feet while he quickly ate through the contents of the bowl before he let Freckles lick the remaining bits of food stuck to the bowl once Yahiko was finished.  Yahiko was petting Freckles’s back while the cat licked the bowl clean when he heard the sounds of footsteps coming through the open side gate that led straight up to the house.

“Oh hey Kaoru there you are…” Yahiko bounded to his feet to meet Kaoru but stuttered to a halt when he saw the newcomer wasn’t Kaoru at all but a man that Yahiko had never seen before. 

“Are you of this household?” the man asked in a nasally tone.

“Yeah I am, the name’s Yahiko Myojin,” Yahiko replied proudly drawing up his short stature as much as he could.  He didn’t like the way this man looked down his nose at him.  In fact, there was little to like about the man’s appearance, his face remained Yahiko of a weasel, his hair was greasy looking, his clothes were of a fine material that showed he clearly came from money, but they were threadbare at the hems that spoke that they were only for show.  And he acted as though he found everything in his present environment, Yahiko included, distasteful.  But there was something about the man’s appearance that seemed nagging familiar to Yahiko and he wondered if he had seen the man somewhere before. He vaguely wondered if he had picked the man’s pocket at some time in the past.  It was the only reason Yahiko could think of for remembering the man.

The man snorted at Yahiko’s introduction and his eyes immediately turned to the house, “I’m here to see Kaoru Kamiya, go fetch her.” The man ordered.

Yahiko felt the hackles on the back of his neck rising at the way the man dismissed him.  “I’m sorry, she isn’t home at the moment, I’m sure she’ll be sorry she missed you, if you tell me your name I’ll let her know that you called,” Yahiko replied, his words may have been polite, had they not been coming from between clenched teeth.

The man’s eyebrows raised at Yahiko’s disrespect, “don’t be flippant with me you street trash, if she is not home then I will wait for her.  I have important matters to discuss.  Why don’t you make you me some tea?  I’ll wait in the house.”

“Wait you can’t go in there,” Yahiko tried to stop the man but the man went straight to the front doors, walked into the main room, and sat down.

“My tea boy, now!” the man shrieked at him, clearly enraged that Yahiko would try and stop him or disobey his order.

Yahiko forced a subservient smile and bowed to the man.  He went to the kitchen and boiled the water, mixed in some tealeaves, pouring the boiling water into the tea pot to let it seep, before he put the lid on the tea pot he hacked up the largest glob of saliva he could and spit in the pot twice before he put the lid on.  He smiled a little to himself as he thought about the man drinking the tea, he was still smiling as he walked the tea in on a tray with a cup to the man and put it down on the floor next to him.

“What are you smirking at me like that for boy?” the man demanded in his annoying voice. 

“No reason sir,” Yahiko replied somewhat meekly.

“Are you a student in this god-forsaken school?” the man asked.

“Yes sir, in fact I’m the first apprentice,” Yahiko replied, sitting down across the room and as far as he could possibly be from the man.  The man poured himself a cup of tea and took a sip, Yahiko’s mental smile turned to a grin, _got you bastard, hope you choke on it._  

“I’m not surprised, that brat wouldn’t know propriety and discipline if she was beaten with it,” the man mused to himself.

Yahiko clenched his fist, assuming that the ‘brat’ the man referred to was Kaoru, “excuse me sir, what did you say about Kaoru?”  He demanded in a raised voice.  _Like hell I’d let this guy talk about Kaoru like that._

“I said that Kaoru is the perfect example of a reprobate, she brings nothing but shame and dishonor to herself and her family name.”

Yahiko wasn’t really sure what reprobate meant, but he figured from the context it was used in that it was an insult of some kind, and that was good enough for him.  “Listen I don’t know who the hell you think you are, but if you don’t take back what you said about Kaoru then I’m going to throw you out on your rear,” Yahiko yelled, pulling his shinai off his back and pointing it at the man.

“Yahiko what on earth are you yelling about?” Kaoru asked as she walked into the house, a basket full of her shopping looped over one arm, she took one look at the guest and her face suddenly looked as though she had swallowed a whole jar of ume.  She glanced over to Yahiko holding his shinai at the ready, “never mind, carry on Yahiko.  Just try and remember to bury the body deep.”  She turned to leave.

“Kaoru, I have important business to discuss with you,” the man rose to his feet.

Kaoru paused in the doorway for a moment before she turned back.  “No Itsuki, you don’t have business with me, you have never had business with me, and you will _never_ have business with me.  Please leave and don’t let the gate hit you on your way out, or do, I really don’t give a damn.”

“I see your manners haven’t improved, you are a disgrace to the family name,” the man scolded her in distaste.

“You’re hardly the one to lecture _me_ on manners.” Kaoru shot back.  “At least I’m not a greasy weasel that turns everything I touch to filth and ruin.”

“Is something the matter?” Kenshin asked coming up behind Kaoru after getting off work for the day.  He glanced curiously at the scene before him, wondering if there was such a thing as a truly peaceful day at the Kamiya dojo.

“This is Itsuki Kamiya, and he was just about to leave, weren’t you?” Kaoru asked with a tilt of her head, never taking her eyes off Itsuki.

“Kamiya?” Kenshin repeated in surprise.

“Wait, are you related to this loser Kaoru?” Yahiko asked, jerking his thumb at Itsuki.

“He’s my cousin,” Kaoru scoffed.

 _Not a close family it seems,_ Kenshin thought as he glanced back and forth between Kaoru and Itsuki, it wasn’t clear which of them hated the other more.

“Why didn’t you say that before?” Yahiko broke in, “Here if you need to borrow my shinai for a moment to deal with this guy Kaoru it’s all yours,” Yahiko offered, holding the weapon out to Kaoru.  He suddenly realized why the man looked so familiar, it was the family resemblance that he had seen.

“Maybe later,” Kaoru brushed off the offer.

“What are you doing here sir?” Kenshin asked, he figured that before the fight broke out he should at least get caught up as to the situation at hand.  He was just glad that Sanosuke wasn’t around, he would only antagonize the situation and as far as Kenshin could tell, they didn’t really need any more antagonizing at the moment.

“I’m here as a family courtesy, that’s all.  Father and I have become aware of your situation at present and that you have fallen on hard times yet again.  Out of our family duty we are prepared to buy this school and would even make arrangements for new living situation for yourself.  You have to admit that our price is more than this place is worth and you will not get a better offer.”  Istuki explained as he looked down his nose at all of them.

Kenshin sighed internally when Kaoru told Istuki exactly what he could do with his offer.  _Time to have another talk/argument with Kaoru-dono about her language, she is setting such a bad example for Yahiko._

 _That a girl Kaoru,_ Yahiko thought with satisfaction.  _Don’t take any of the crap this guy’s handing out._

Istuki drew himself up slightly at Kaoru’s words, “you truly are the shining example of harlot, taking in the lowest elements of society into your home and bed,” Istuki sneered, glancing at Kenshin.

Karou’s face went from red to white faster than Yahiko had ever seen before and she stepped forward, clenching her good arm but to everyone’s surprise Kenshin was the one who slapped Istuki across the face with a backhand.  “This one believes that you have overstayed your welcome.  Kaoru-dono is not interested in selling, that she is not.  Please do call again when hell freezes over,” Kenshin calmly informed Istuki as he twisted his arm into a compression wristlock behind Istuki’s back, grabbing his collar with his other hand and marched Istuki to the gate and threw him out into the street.  “And if you ever say such things of Kaoru-dono again then this one will have to teach you to keep a civil tongue in your head, consider this as your only warning.” Kenshin informed him in a deadly tone, his eyes flashing.

Kenshin stood there until Istuki picked himself off, shook his clothes out, and left.  Kaoru and Yahiko joined Kenshin by the gate, “umm Kenshin, you feeling all right?” Kaoru asked with an amused tip of her head.

Kenshin smiled brightly, “yes Kaoru-dono, that I am.  Throwing trash like that out is always so satisfying don’t you think?”

Kaoru gave him a strange look, “I’m not sure at this point who has been a worse influence on you Kenshin, me or Sanosuke.”

“So that’s the relatives, charming family you have Kaoru,” Yahiko mused.  “I’m guessing that’s the guy you were talking about the other day with Doctor Gensei and Master Maekawa?  The weasel guy?  Just how are you two related exactly?”

“Yeah he’s the guy we were talking about,” Kaoru rolled his eyes.  “That’s a side of the family I’d rather not have to admit my relation to.  But to be honest he’s the son of my father’s younger brother, technically that side of the family was disowned.”

“You know this one has always wondered why your father did not leave you with someone of your own class when he went to Kyoto,” Kenshin mused.  “If your cousin is any indicator of your family this one understands completely why you were left with Doctor Gensei, that I do.”

“You don’t know the half of it,” Kaoru sighed.  “he’s actually the best one of that lot.  The rest of the family is a real piece of work.  The only reason he gets sent on these missions is he’s the only one I don’t go after with a boku-ken on sight.”

“Fascinating,” Yahiko mused.  “So anyone want some dinner now?”

***

Kenshin left Yahiko sitting inside working on his writing after dinner.  Yahiko was carefully tracing characters onto bits of paper to bring to Kaoru later for inspection.  Kenshin went outside to join Kaoru on the back porch as the sun started setting.

“Are you feeling all right Kaoru-dono?” Kenshin asked.

Kaoru turned to him with a bright smile, “oh sure, the shoulder doesn’t really bother me unless I do something stupid to strain it that’s all.”

“That’s not what I was asking about, I meant how you felt about what happened this afternoon, that I did.”  Kenshin responded trying not to roll his eyes at Kaoru.

Kaoru looked away, “that side of the family has always been mad that the dojo went to me after Papa died instead of to them.  They have been trying to get me to sell ever since then.  They’re like vultures, every time things look bad for me that show up again and make the offer again.  I’m used to it by now.”

“Then what is brothering you so much then Kaoru-dono, and what was it that you wanted to tell this one this morning?” Kenshin asked gently.

“I was just frustrated at the world this morning that’s all,” Kaoru tucked her legs against her chest and rested her chin on her knees.  “I got tag teamed yesterday with Tae, and Doctor Gensei, and Master Maewaka, that’s all.”

“What about?”

“They were trying to convince me to sell the dojo, or at least consider the idea due to the current situation, that is if I can’t do well enough in the tournament.  It just felt like they were trying to set me up for failure, as if I’m not nervous enough about the whole thing.  I mean I’ve never done anything like this before, in fact I’ve avoided situations such as this like the plague.  All people ever see of me in these situations is just some girl who doesn’t know her place and I have to be at least twice as good as they are to be acknowledge of ‘having a few skills in kenjutsu’.  It’s exhausting to have to put up with that kind of contempt and ridicule and…”

“Whoa Kaoru-dono,” Kenshin put a hand on her shoulder to slow down the rush of her words as her voice became more frantic and panicked the longer she talked.  Kaoru stopped talking at his touch and gave him a nervous grin, realizing that she had been babbling. 

“Sorry Kenshin, guess I got a little carried away there,” Kaoru muttered, a little embarrassed as Kenshin removed his hand from her shoulder.

“You will do fine at the tournament, that you will.  This one is sure of that,” Kenshin assured her.  “You have certainly been pushing yourself hard enough to prepare for it, in fact this one thinks you should slow down a bit, at least give your shoulder a chance to heal beforehand.”

“You really think I can do this?” Kaoru asked in desperation.  “I wouldn’t even be in this mess if it hadn’t been for Yahiko after all, signing up was all his idea.”

“Yes I do.”  Kenshin assessed.  “Just as long as you keep it together, you do have talent, and a hard cross.”

Kaoru grinned a little as Kenshin teased her, knowing that Kenshin had experienced firsthand her punch, “you would know wouldn’t you?  After all you can’t dodge it.”

Kenshin laughed and they both turned back to stare into the evening as twilight descended.  “It is a beautiful night,” he commented to no one.

“It kind of remains me of the night in the stars,” Kaoru muttered to herself softly.  Kenshin turned to look at her in curiosity.  “It was something that Papa did for me after Mama died.”  Kaoru explained.  “I wouldn’t say a word after she died and they had been trying everything to make me talk.  It was a couple months later I guess when he came up with this idea to recreate something from one of her stories, you know that one where to become a man, the hero has to travel to a distant land to find the fallen star?  Anyways I was just getting over a fever and he came in at night, covered my eyes, and said he that we were leaving on a journey to a distant land, to the land of the stars.  He just hung a bunch of lanterns in the trees and the like and made a makeshift tent out of some blankets over there,” Koru pointed to an area several yards away from the well.  “We ate dinner out there and pretended that the lanterns were really stars all around us and the like.  It made me so happy that I finally started talking again.” 

“That’s a nice story,” Kenshin commented softly, a sudden thought hit him and he jumped to his feet. “Would you like to take a walk Kaoru-dono?” Kenshin offered.

“You want to go for a walk after dark?” Kaoru asked slowly, as surprised by Kenshin’s request as the sudden timing of it.

“Sure, besides a change of scenery is good for you,” Kenshin replied quickly.

Kaoru thought about it for a moment before she got to her feet, “okay Kenshin let’s go for a walk.  Hey Yahiko!  We’ll be back in a little while!” She yelled into the house.

Yahiko slid the door open and gave Kenshin a serious look, “you better have her back in half an hour, and remember no patty fingers.”

“Yahiko you twerp!” Kaoru yelled, her face flushing red in embarrassment and Yahiko slid the door closed with a boyish laugh.  Fuming Kaoru turned to Kenshin who was staring at the door Yahiko had disappeared behind in surprise.  “You ready to go?” she asked Kenshin.

Kenshin shook his head, the idea of ‘patty fingers’ not even occurring to him until Yahiko mentioned it.  “Yes let’s, and apparently the natives want this one to have you back in half an hour.”   He teased, getting his feet back under him.

“The natives can just deal, especially since they can’t keep their room in even the vaguest semblance of ‘order’.”  Kaoru muttered. 

Smiling Kenshin led the way as they walked down to the river to enjoy the night.


	4. The Peace Before the War

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So in this book I'm referencing some actual events that happened, such as the Iwakura Mission and the issues with Korea. As well as several real figures such as Takamori Saigo. This incident with Korea seemed like a good thing that I could use to help advance the plot on a couple of other fronts for the ultimate end goal at the end of this book.

**Chapter 3**

**The Peace Before the War**

Takamori Saigo listened to the report with several other ministers, those that had not gone on the Iwakura Mission, designed to observe western countries and learn from them and to bring that knowledge back to Japan to further strengthen the country after the chaos of the revolution.  Yuudai Ashikaya, the Minster of the Interior also listened with rapt attention to the report, dictating the treatment of the envoy sent to Korea to establish trade and communication with Japan’s neighbor.

“… and they refused to accept Emperor Meiji as the leader of Japan and so have refused to make any trade agreements with us,” the agent concluded his report.  “They told us that the only leader that they recognize of Japan is the former Shogun Yoshinobu Tokagawa.”

“They said they only recognized Tokagawa?” Saigo snapped in anger, “and then they force our envoy to leave?”

“Actually, sir their exact words were they would not recognize a horde of incompetent fools who parade a child as their leader while holding a sword to the throat of their true leader,” the agent stated.

Ashikaya leaned back in his seat, “it would seem that they are not interested in trade with us,” he commented mildly.

Saigo couldn’t understand how Ashikaya could be taking this so calmly, “this is an insult to this entire nation.  We shouldn’t stand for this!”

“And what do you suggest Saigo?” Ashikaya challenged, “starting a war with them because they refuse to recognize the change in government?  It has only been five years since the revolution.  We have had a great deal of internal turmoil, the samurai class that has lost almost everything and is now completely displaced, and who knows how many are plotting to start rebellions of their own now?  Korea may only believe that our government is not yet in full control of the country and sees no reason to make agreements with a government that may well collapse.  I would suggest continued diplomacy to…”

“Is that your solution to everything Ashikaya-san?” Saigo demanded, “if so then no wonder that our ‘internal’ problems have been allowed to fester for so long.  Problems like this have to be dealt with decisively,” Saigo emphasized this by slamming his fist on the table.

Ashikaya’s eyes flashed at the mention of ‘internal’ problems, knowing full well the problem that Saigo was referring to.  “Perhaps I wouldn’t have so many problems if you did your job the first time instead of making other’s clean up after you,” Ashikaya coldly retorted as he knew that one particular ‘internal’ problem had been because Saigo had been unable to see to the death of one man.

Saigo’s face went red, things might have escalated but another minster stood up to calm the situation, “that’s enough both of you!” he snapped.  “Arguing among ourselves solves nothing.  For now, we should focus on the best way to deal with this matter of Korea and the treatment of our envoy.”

Saigo and Ashikaya glared at each other for a moment longer before coming to a silent agreement to let the matter rest for now.  They turned back and the discussion of what to do began again with the different ministers stating their opinions of the matter.  _Kido and Okubo had better returned to Japan soon,_ Ashikaya prayed to himself, they had both left on the Iwakura Mission and were scheduled to returned to Japan in a couple of months.  _Saigo is almost completely out of control.  If this goes on much longer he will destroy this country, and this is just playing into_ his _plans._

_***_

 “Would you like some more saki?” Natsumi Mayeda asked politely, holding up a small bottle of saki.

Sanosuke shook his head, “I’d love some but unfortunately I suppose to be on guard duty, so that’s enough for now.”

“Very well,” Natsumi Mayeda put the bottle down.  “I must say that it is quite a relief to have someone here while my husband is gone. What with all these break-ins in the past few weeks...”

“Not a problem,” Sanosuke grinned.  “Quite my pleasure, it’s not often that I get to work under such pleasant conditions.”

“If there is anything that I can do to make things more comfortable for you please let me know, I’ve also instructed the servants to see to any needs you have while you are here,” Natsumi assured him.  “You are after all doing this whole household, including myself, a great favor by seeing to our wellbeing.”

Sanosuke grinned, “thanks’ for the hospitality.  I’ll just go make a quick round of the place and make sure everything’s locked up for the night.  A very good night to you ma’am,” he bowed politely in her direction as he stood up and left the room.  Things had been progressing well between him and Natsumi, she seemed to enjoy his advances so far.  For the moment, Sanosuke was keeping everything polite, but if things kept going as they were… Sanosuke grinned to himself as he pretended to make the rounds, more for show than anything.  _She’s probably about as thrilled being married to a man two steps from his grave as you can expect any woman would be.  I doubt that guy could possibly satisfy a woman like that, probably why he heaps all those fancy clothes on her and the like,_ Sanosuke reasoned. 

He had already learned from Natsumi that the marriage, like most, had been arranged by her family.  While she had not openly expressed dissatisfaction in the match there were those subtle undertones in her voice and the way she would look at Sanosuke that made him sure that before her husband came home their relationship would advance past the mistress of the house and the lowly guard.

_Now this is a job that won’t have a catch like the last one did,_ Sanosuke started whistling as he made sure the gates were locked tight.  _And the best part is once her husband gets home neither of us will ever see each other again_ , _best thing about married women, they don’t come banging on your door later when it’s over._ If there was one thing Sanosuke didn’t want in his relationship with women was anything resembling long term commitment.    _Yep this thing is in no way going to back fire on me._

_***_

Yahiko strolled into the dojo, it was in the morning and almost time for his lesson with Kaoru.  She was changing in the house and Yahiko didn’t feel like waiting around with her, _I might as well warm up and stretch out while I’m waiting for Kaoru to get beautiful, that’s going to take a while after all._   Yahiko slid back the back door to the dojo and was surprised to see a teenage boy standing in the dojo looking up at the name plaques on the wall.  He was a good foot taller than Yahiko and at least two years older. 

“Can I help you?” Yahiko asked politely, stepping forward to greet the boy.

“I’m sorry, I just let myself in since the gate and door were open,” the boy apologized quickly pointing back to the open dojo doors.  Now that the boy was facing him Yahiko could see that the boy had a stunning black eye.

“Yeah, we leave the doors open since it’s so hot outside,” Yahiko replied.  “Are you looking for someone or something?”

“My name is Akio, my sister said that I should come here, she said that someone here name Yahiko could…” the boy started.

“Oh so you’re the kid who is having problems with the bullies right?” Yahiko asked, stepping forward.

Akio looked away embarrassed, “look it was a waste of time to come here, I’ll get out of your way.”

“Hey what’s the hurry?” Yahiko asked.  “You haven’t even met Kaoru yet and talked to her.  If you want to learn how to defend yourself she can help you believe me,” Yahiko pleaded, stepping forward.  This boy was a potential student that Kaoru needed so badly to get the school back on its feet and keep them from starving or having to sell the dojo.  As far as Yahiko was concerned, he would make sure this kid became a student if he had to beat him into a bloody pulp to do it.

“‘She’ the master here is a woman?” Akio exclaimed in disbelief, “great I knew this place had to be a mistake when my sister told me to go to ‘Battosai’ school.  Then I see this place has what, two students?  You and some other kid who’s listed as tentative.  I’m out of here,” Akio scoffed turning his back.

“Wait up!” Yahiko yelled, running to cut Akio off before he walked out the door.  He slammed his arm out to bar Akio’s way.

“Get out of the way,” Akio tried to shove Yahiko away but Yahiko pushed the boy back. 

“Look I’ve got something to say and you’re going to listen to me before you leave,” Yahiko breathed, trying to urge Akio to stay for just one minute longer to hear him out.  Akio stood there angrily and was about to cut Yahiko off but Yahiko quickly went on.  “Look I know this school has gotten a bad rep in the past, believe me those rumors only got started because that killer had an old grudge against this school and wanted to see it destroyed.  And yes the master here is a girl, it is her single greatest flaw but if you take a minute to pull your head out of your ass and give her a chance you’ll find out that she’s actually a decent instructor and a great fighter.  And if you’re not content to be a punching bag for the rest of your life than show up to the Emperor’s Tournament and you’ll see that _girl_ wiping the floor with every contender that gets in her way.”

“Get out of my way,” Akio knocked Yahiko out of his way and stalked past him. 

“Remember Emperor’s Tournament, July 25th, 9 in the morning.  Be there and then come back and ask about lessons!” Yahiko yelled at the boy’s retreating back.  “Remember!”

“Yahiko what are you doing?” Kaoru asked as she walked into the dojo, catching the last of Yahiko’s words.  She was giving him a look that clearly doubted the boy’s sanity.

“Oh there was a kid here asking for directions, I was just telling him to remember where he was going,” Yahiko covered quickly, he didn’t want to tell Kaoru that he had let a potential student get away, especially as he wasn’t sure that Akio would even be coming back.

“Ooo-kay,” Kaoru said slowly, “well let’s get started then.”  She led Yahiko through the start of their lessons, stretching out and warm out exercises practicing his swings and blocks.  She started out the lesson with her arm in a sling but finally she threw the sling off in disgust.

“Umm Kaoru don’t you need that?” Yahiko asked as Kaoru threw the sling over to the benches on the wall.

“That’s just what the Doctor says, personally that thing has been driving me nuts, and so long as I don’t jerk my arm it’s okay.” Kaoru responded.  “All right, I figured that we should review working with the tensson and then I thought I would give you a choice of what we start next.  So any preferences?”  Kaoru asked.

Yahiko thought about it for a minute, “well I’d liked to learn the spear, from the way you were using during that pirate attack I figure you know it, but what about when you don’t have a weapon?”  Yahiko asked, thinking about Akio from earlier, he figured that if the boy did come back for lessons then he would most likely not have a weapon with him when he was ganged up on by bullies. 

“Empty handed combat huh?” Kaoru repeated with a tip of her head, and slight smile on her face.  “All right we can do that, I thought you wanted to learn weapons first but it is a good idea to know what to do when you find yourself unarmed.  Wait,” Kaoru stopped as a sudden thought occurred to her.  “You’re not in trouble again are you?  Like before when that asshole wanted to rob the Akebeko?”

“Gee, you’re suspicious you know that?” Yahiko shrugged, “why do you always think something is wrong anyways?”

“Because it usually is,” Kaoru shrugged, “all right but if something is wrong you will tell me won’t you?”

“Sure, sure, now can we get to the lesson already, you’ve got to work off that flabby behind of yours unless you want to be laughed out of the tournament before you even get a chance to fight,” Yahiko grumbled and then promptly had to block Kaoru’s swing at him.

***

Kenshin made his way to the Sekihara family after another day of not finding any work.  He had received a message saying that Tae wanted him to come and speak with her at the earliest possible moment and not to tell Kaoru about it.  Kenshin felt a little odd showing up on Tae’s doorstop by himself.  Any contact he had ever had with Tae it was always with Kaoru next to him, and he also didn’t understand why she didn’t want him to tell Kaoru that he was invited over.  Kenshin knocked on the front gate politely and it was opened by an older woman with a stern face that Kenshin had never seen before. 

“Good day to you madam, I am Kenshin Himura and I’m here to see Tae Sekihara, I was invited.”  Kenshin spoke up.

“Oh yes I remember her saying that someone like you would be showing up soon,” the woman scoffed.  “You’re the one who’s boarding with Kamiya aren’t you?”

Kenshin nodded, “yes this one is…”

“This way,” the woman cut him off as she opened the gate wider for Kenshin and stepped aside.

“Thank you very mu-” Kenshin started before he was cut off again.

“She’s this way, follow me,” the woman stated shortly as she slid the front gate closed and led the way into the house.

Kenshin felt very taken aback by the woman’s rudeness.  She had seemed stern when she had first opened the gate but it seemed the moment that she heard he was connect to Kaoru she became almost hostile.  _Oh that’s just ridiculous, you’re probably just getting paranoid, there’s no way she hates you just because you live with Kaoru-dono._ Kenshin thought to himself as he followed the woman into the house and she opened the door and pointed him out to back garden area.  Kenshin saw Tae out repotting some plants in the courtyard area of the garden.

“Kenshin-san!” Tae greeted warmly, glancing up when she heard the door slid back.  “Please come on out, make yourself at home,” Tae offered, untying the apron and throwing it over a bush, Kenshin sat on a bench on one side of the courtyard and Tae joined him on bench opposite.

“Tae-dono, how are you doing?” Kenshin asked politely.

“I’m well, how are you?” she replied politely.

“Quite well, how much longer until we meet the little one you think?”  Kenshin asked, referring to Tae’s growing abdomen.

“Oh the midwife says that it will be two more months at least,” Tae replied, “personally I wish it was sooner, I’m feeling a little stir crazy being stuck at home all the time.  One of the reasons I’ve been trying to get my friends to visit as often as I can, to have some pleasant company for a change.”

“Yes this one met the other woman, she seems a little unpleasant,” Kenshin offered mildly, glancing around to make sure that the other woman wasn’t around.

“That’s my mother-in-law,” Tae rolled her eyes.  “That is a woman that wars would be fought over, not in who gets to have her but in who doesn’t want to be stuck with her.”

“That seems a little harsh,” Kenshin injected mildly.  Actually, Kenshin thought that very extreme, he wondered if that was an effect of being such close friends with Kaoru.

“Try spending an hour with her,” Tae replied dryly, “then after she’s driven you to the point of insanity remember that I’ve spent almost two whole months with her.”  Kenshin just bit his lip and looked around uncomfortably.  “You’re probably wondering why I asked you to come here aren’t you?” Tae asked.

“A little,” Kenshin responded.

“I actually asked you to come here to talk about Kaoru,” Tae held up her hand to cut Kenshin off before he could interrupt her.  “She told me about what’s going on between you two with her regular visits here and I’m thrilled but we need to talk about her birthday, you did know that was coming up right?”

“It’s her birthday soon?” Kenshin asked in surprise. 

“You didn’t know?”

Kenshin shook his head, “she never mentioned when her birthday was, so no, this one didn’t know.”

“It’s the fourth,” Tae told him.  “But the real reason I want to talk to you about this is because I want to make sure that you don’t do anything for her.  Don’t buy her any presents, didn’t throw her birthday party, and for heaven’s sake don’t even wish her ‘Happy Birthday’.  Just ignore the whole thing until it’s over.”

“Oro? Why not?”  Kenshin asked in surprise.

Tae sighed and looked down with a sad look, “because to Kaoru, for the past few years her birthday has just been the unhappy remainder of when she buried the only parent she ever really knew.  It was summer so we had to bury her father the day after he died, which was unfortunately on her birthday.  The first year afterwards we thought it would be nice to try and take her mind of things, just something small, having dinner with her and all.  Doctor Gensei wished her happy birthday and she just broke down.  And she did the same thing the next two years after that.  We all finally just agreed to ignore it and she seemed relieved when we did.”

Kenshin thought about it for a moment, “you really think that would be the best thing for her?”

“Yes Kenshin-san, I do,” Tae assured him.

***

Kaoru cleaned up the weeds that were chocking the gravestone.  She worked quickly as the sun rose higher in the sky causing the temperature to rise, before long Kaoru was sweating and longing for a cool breath of air as she worked but none was forthcoming.  Finally, she managed to clean up the gravestones that marked her family plot.  She plopped down on the ground at the foot of her father’s grave, he was buried in the family plot by his own father and older brother, his wife nearby. 

“It’s been five years to the day Papa,” Kaoru whispered sadly, staring at her father’s name on the gravestone.  Kenshin and Yahiko had both offered to come with Kaoru when she announced the night before at dinner that today was the anniversary of her father’s death and she had made it a yearly ritual to go out that day and clean up his and the rest of her family graves.  Kaoru had refused their offers.  She may have let them join her on the other holidays where families would go and clean up the graves of their loved ones who had passed away.  But this was the one day that she wanted to be alone with her father.

She folded her hands and bowed her head in prayer, she spent this day telling her father about everything that had happened to her in the past year, and this year she had quite a bit to report.  _Papa, you remember that boy that you rescued from the ice and then teased me that I was a tennin or something because you saw me there in Kyoto asking you to save him?  You remember how I laughed at you for that?  Well I’ve got a funny story for you Papa,_ Kaoru started.  She started to relate from the beginning, there wasn’t much to tell up until Gohia Hiruma, an angry former student seeking revenge, he pretended to be Hitokiri Battosai and went on a killing spree, claiming to be a master of Kamiya Kasshin-ryu in order to discredit the school.  The ploy had worked and every one of Kaoru’s students had left, fearing be connecting to the murderer.

That was how she met Kenshin.  She had started patrolling the streets, hoping to find the murderer, bring him to justice, and clear her school’s name.  She had seen a man with a sword after swords had been banned on the street and she had tried to stop them.  Kenshin had thought she was just crazy and had tried to ignore her but Kaoru had attacked him.  He only a few minutes later saved her from Gohia and then she had invited him to stay with her for the night.  Later on, he saved her from Gohia again and finally confessed to Kaoru his identity, that he had been the assassin known as Hitokiri Battosai during the war.  Kaoru had invited Kenshin to stay despite his true identity.

She continued her story to how they had rescued Yahiko from the yukaza who had taken advantage of the orphan son of a samurai and forced him to be a pickpocket for them, then to how they had meet Sanosuke when he had been hired to fight and possibly kill Kenshin.  She brushed past how that had been resolved and even made mention of when they had helped Megumi Takani to escape from the opium ring that she had been a part of.  And how the leader of that opium ring, Kanryu Takada, had hired the former ninja of the Edo Castle, the Oniwanabanshu to work for him and now because all of them had been killed by Kanryu, the only survivor, the Okishira, Aoshi Shinomori, had sworn his revenge on Kenshin.  Bit by bit she related everything that had happened in her life since Kenshin had become a part of it. 

_This may seem crazy Papa, since Kenshin came into my life I’ve been in far more trouble than I have been for long time.  Since you were alive to be honest.  But it’s the first time since then that I’ve been happy, really truly happy.  I have people with me now, I don’t feel alone anymore like I did before.  And Papa, I also wanted to tell you that I love Kenshin.  I doesn’t matter to me what he did during the war, because I know who he is now, and that’s a good person._

By late afternoon Kaoru was finally done, she opened her eyes and stiffly got to her feet, looking one more time at her father’s gravestone.  “Well that’s all Papa, I have to go now, I’ve got to be home in time for supper or Kenshin and Yahiko will send out the search parties,” Kaoru joked sadly before she turned and left.

By the time she got home, supper was already ready, “about time you got home Kaoru, Kenshin was about ready to go looking for you,” Yahiko informed Kaoru as he carried the food into the house.

_Called it,_ Kaoru thought drily, “well I’m home,” she replied.  “Hey have you seen Sanosuke around, it’s been a while since we’ve seen him and this isn’t like him at all.”

Yahiko shrugged, “maybe he found a girl and is holed up with her?”

“Unlikely, you think any girl would put up with Sanosuke for this long?” Kaoru asked in disbelief. 

“You’ve got a point,” Yahiko grinned.

“Hey Kenshin, do you know why Sanosuke’s disappeared?” Kaoru asked as Kenshin walked into the room with the last of supper.

“Sanosuke?  Oh this one heard from some of his other friends that he found himself some job.  He is guarding some merchants’ house somewhere.” Kenshin replied.

“How does he just luck into jobs?” Yahiko asked.  “Kenshin and I are busting our butts and Kaoru has been killing herself getting ready for the tournament.  Meanwhile Sanosuke, just waltz through life, mooching food off his friends, borrowing money, drinking, womanizing, and lands jobs without any problems at all.”

“He did survive the massacre of the rest of the Sekihoutai when he was younger,” Kenshin pointed out.  “When none of the other soldiers did, maybe he’s just lucky.”

***

 Sanosuke sleepily opened his eyes to see Natsumi hastily tying up her kimono in the pre-dawn light.  “What are you doing?” he asked with a yawn, “it’s still a while before anyone will be up.”

Natsumi turned to Sanosuke with a playful smile, “that’s exactly why I’m in such a hurry, it would be a scandal if the servants knew that I spent the night with you,” she playfully bantered with him.  “I’ll be spending today and tomorrow with my sister so you’ll have the night off,” she informed him before she leaned over and kissed him.  “But tomorrow night I fully expect you to come to my room once the servants are asleep and we can discuss this further,” she told him breathlessly, with a sedative flutter of her eyelashes.

“Whatever the mistress demands,” Sanosuke agreed with a wide grin.  Natsumi smiled back, got to her feet, and left.  Sanosuke stared at the ceiling, a satisfied smile on his face once the door slid closed.  It was moving faster than Sanosuke had expected.  Last night it had been Natsimi who had come to his room confessing that she couldn’t wait anymore, that she wanted to be with him, much to Sanosuke’s surprise.  Sanosuke had never been one to turn down on offer like that from a woman so he had let her stay.  _Looks like I’ve got another rendezvous tomorrow, I should go by the dojo today and see how things are going for them now,_ he mused as he rolled over to catch a few more hours of sleep before he left the house, _yep this job may not have the potential for a fight but it’s still fun in other ways._

_***_

Kaoru opened her eyes slowly, even before she was fully awake she knew what day it was.  It was the second part of her own private hell, the remainder of the worst time of her life.  _And my twentieth birthday, the spinster is another year older,_ she thought glumly.  _As if this day couldn’t get any worse._   Kaoru didn’t personally care about how old she was now, but it was something else to depress her and at the moment she wanted to be depressed, as strange as it was.  She thought for a moment about lying in bed for the day but knew that Yahiko and Kenshin would freak out if she did.  With a sigh, she threw back the covers and got ready to face the day.

She got dressed and went into the kitchen to find Yahiko setting out a single tray full of food.  “Oh good morning Kaoru, how’d you sleep?” Yahiko asked politely, Kaoru was instantly suspicious, Yahiko was rarely this nice to her and he was never nice to her first thing in the morning as he was far from a morning person.

“Fine,” she said slowly, “what are you doing?”

“Setting out breakfast,” came the quick response, “Kenshin made it before he left this morning, said he had some errand to run. I thought it would be nice if I brought it to in your room but since you’re here I guess that’s moot.”

Kenshin was no longer looking for work every day since Kaoru had received her payment from Master Maewaka, everything that he owed her, and she had insisted to Kenshin that she didn’t need any more help making money for the moment, that she needed his help around the dojo more.  Kenshin had accepted this, returning to his daily chores around the dojo, but only after making Kaoru swear that when she did need more money that she would tell him and he would try and find more work.  The news about Kenshin didn’t affect Kaoru much, though she wondered briefly what errand Kenshin had to run.  But that was only a passing thought as Yahiko’s strange behavior had Kaoru’s suspensions turning into full blown paranoia, _where is Yahiko and what did this kid do to him?_   She wondered to herself, “Yahiko are you feeling all right this morning?” Kaoru asked suspiciously.

“I’m feeling great Kaoru,” Yahiko responded in a chipper voice.  “Well let’s eat before the food gets cold.”

Kaoru kept a careful eye on Yahiko all though breakfast, her unsettling feelings only continued to grow stronger when Yahiko insisted on doing all the cleaning up by himself, maintaining that Kaoru just relax.  Yahiko’s attitude continued through his morning lessons, there wasn’t even one snappy comeback or groan when Kaoru made him practice his drills and forms again and again.  He even added a –sensei to her name during the lesson.  Kaoru spent the whole time trying to understand Yahiko’s behavior. 

_I haven’t told Kenshin or the other’s when my birthday is because I didn’t want them to make a big deal out of it or try and do anything for me, so that can’t be it,_ Kaoru thought.  _But maybe they found out from someone else?  If Tae or Doctor Gensei had told them they would also have told them that I don’t like it when people do things for my birthday.  But maybe they heard about it from someone else._   Kaoru immediately thought of Doctor Gensei’s two granddaughters, Ayame and Suzume, who they occasionally babysat.  _They might have told them, that would explain why Yahiko is being so nice._   Kaoru thought for a moment about telling Yahiko to knock it off, that she didn’t want him to keep being nice to her just because it was her birthday but she stopped herself.  _Oh come on Kaoru it’s been five years and you’re not near the emotional wreck that you were only a few months ago.  Maybe I should just let them do whatever plans they might have made and just grin and bear it.  After all they might not even know how I feel about it now. Besides this is the nicest Yahiko has ever been to me, I should enjoy it while I can._

Kaoru finished up the lesson in time for them to make lunch and Yahiko continued to be overly helpful in the kitchen, he was starting to annoy Kaoru because his attempts to help and predict what she would need next meant that he kept getting underfoot.

“Hey guy’s what’s cooking?”  Sanosuke asked sticking his head in the door, sniffing the air.  “Man that smells good.”

Kaoru’s eyebrows shot up, Sanosuke completing any aspect of her cooking was as suspicious as Yahiko’s good behavior.    “Sanosuke, we haven’t seen you for a while,” she replied back calmly.

“Yeah I’ve got a temporary job as a guard, I’ve got a while off so I thought I would stop by and see how you guys are doing,” Sanosuke replied.  “Oh and I saw a stand selling this on the way over and thought you might like some,” Sanosuke pulled out a small box and opened it and Kaoru saw it was filled with daifuku.

“Wow Sanosuke, this is great,” Yahiko exclaimed when he saw the treats.

_Is he in on this too?_   Kaoru wondered, Sanosuke bringing food to the dojo was about as rare as his complimenting her cooking.  “Well let’s have some lunch first then we can split up the daifuku, we should leave a few for Kenshin though.”

They ate lunch with both Yahiko and Sanosuke complementing the meal.  If Kaoru had needed any further confirmation that these two were up to something that would have sealed it.  She had deliberately not added any seasonings to the meal and it was nearly tasteless, and a little on the burned side.  Despite this, Sanosuke and Yahiko finished off everything while Sanosuke caught them up on what had happened to him since they had gotten back to Tokyo (neglecting to mention his current relationship with Natsumi since he knew what Kaoru’s reaction would be to that) and Kaoru and Yahiko did the same.  Sanosuke commented that he would really have loved to see Kenshin ‘bitch slap’ Kaoru’s cousin and then throw him out into the street.  It was after they divided up the treats, leaving a few for Kenshin and enjoying them with the last of the tea Kaoru had made, that Sanosuke spoke up.

“You look like you’re in a good mood Kaoru, mind if I ask you something?” Sanosuke asked politely.

“Sure what is it?” Kaoru asked, she had finally relaxed, deciding that she was going to enjoy the treatment Yahiko and Sanosuke were showing to her, temporary as it might be.

“Well I was just wondering if you had any money to spare since apparently they won’t let me order anything at the Akabeko until I pay up some of what I owe them and I haven’t been paid yet for this job so…” Sanosuke held out his open hands in a half shrug.

“And Kaoru while you’re in such a good mood, you won’t be too upset to know that I might have _accidently_ broke that vase in the family room that you liked so much.”  Yahiko added hastily, wanting to capitalize on Kaoru’s good mood while he could.

Kaoru’s eyes widen slightly and she looked back and forth between Yahiko and Sanosuke.  _They were only being nice to me because they wanted something from me?!_   Kaoru screamed in her head.  _Here I had finally decided to enjoy my birthday for the first time in five years since they seemed so determined to make sure that I was happy and all along it was only for themselves!_

“You jerks I hate all of you!” she screamed, unshed tears of frustration in her eyes.  She jumped to her feet and ran out of the kitchen, through the gate, past a startled Kenshin who tried to stop her but Kaoru just tore right past him and down the road as fast as she could.

Kenshin turned to Yahiko and Sanosuke who shamefully came out of the kitchen to see Kenshin.  “What is going on?  Why is Kaoru-dono so upset?” Kenshin demanded.

“Umm…” Yahiko rubbed his head, shifting his foot, not wanting to tell Kenshin what happened.

“Well you see…” Sanosuke started, he was no more willing to say than Yahiko.

“You had better start talking now before this one has to loosen you tongues, that you’d better,” Kenshin threatened, shaking his finger at them.

“I was just trying to be nice to Kaoru, like trying to bring her breakfast to her room, not insulting her, doing chores without being asked and the like because I didn’t’ want her to get mad because I broke her favorite vase when I was running through the house and knocked it over.”  Yahiko told Kenshin shamefully.

“I brought her some treats to sweeten her up so she might loan me some money so I can pay off some debts,” Sanosuke added.  “Even said her cooking was great when it had to be one of the worst things she’s ever made, and that’s saying something.”

Kenshin felt a strangled yell threaten to choke him.  “You two have to be the biggest idiots in Japan, hell probably in the whole world!” Kenshin yelled at them.   “Do you have any idea what today is?”

They stared at him blank faced for a moment, “Friday?” Yahiko asked unhelpfully. 

Kenshin glared at the two of them, “it’s Kaoru-dono’s birthday, that it is.”

“Well she should have said something,” Sanosuke spoke up defensively.  “I can’t steal presents for people if they don’t tell me it’s their birthday.  She has no one to blame but herself in this case.”

“She didn’t say anything because her birthday is also the anniversary of her father’s funeral and she hasn’t celebrated her birthday since then,” Kenshin fumed at them.

“That would kind of put a damper on the celebration,” Yahiko commented mildly.

“This one was going to try and do something nice for her today so that she didn’t feel depressed or upset, and you too had to go and upset her!”  Kenshin yelled at them.  He turned on his heel and stalked towards the gate.

“Hey where are you going?” Yahiko yelled after him.

“To try to fix this, you two try not to make assess of yourself anymore and be at Tae’s home at 5 o’clock today.”  Kenshin shouted back over his shoulder before he turned to deliver one final warning before he walked out of the gate, “and I swear if you say or do anything else to upset Kaoru-dono this evening then this one will see to it that you regret ever being born.”

Sanosuke and Yahiko watched Kenshin leave, the silence lasted between them for only a moment before it was broken.  “So, you think Kenshin can calm Kaoru down or do you think we’re dead?” Yahiko asked.

“Why are you asking me?”  Sanosuke’s asked indigently.  “I haven’t even been around to see how they act around each other now since Kenshin finally stood up and acted like a man.”

“They act pretty much the same if you ask me,” Yahiko shrugged.  “Only difference I’ve seen is that they go out walking together almost every night.  Oh and Kaoru is _slightly_ less prone to flying off the handle, but not by that much.”

Sanosuke sighed, “gees, even when they do finally get together they’re going to take their time.  No wonder the Missy is crazy, Kenshin’s starting to drive me a little nuts.”

***

Kaoru ran all the way to the little spot on the riverbank that she and Kenshin went to almost every night now when they went off on their evening walks.  Kaoru leaned against a tree and slid down the bark until she was sitting on the ground in a dejected heap.  She stared at the water, wishing she was someone else.  She felt like crying but couldn’t, so she was denied even that release for her emotions.  _Forget what I thought earlier, I hate my birthday and always will,_ Kaoru thought bitterly as she stared off into the water.  She turned when she heard the sound of approaching footsteps to watch Kenshin come up and kneel next to her with concern on his face.

“Kaoru-dono are you all right?” he asked, his voice twinge with worry.

“I’m all right,” Kaoru replied emotionless, turning back to stare at the water.  “I just really hate these two days and all, and they reminded me of that day.  Yahiko and Sanosuke might have been being jerks but there not the real problem.”

“Because this was the day that you buried your father,” Kenshin stated, though it wasn’t a question, Kaoru nodded in agreement.  “And your birthday,” Kenshin finished, sitting sideways next to Kaoru, his back to the same tree.

“So you know,” Kaoru wasn’t surprised, someone probably warned Kenshin beforehand. Kaoru figured it was probably Doctor Gensei.

“Yes this one knows, and I also know how much you hate this day because of what it reminds you of.”  Kenshin’s words were empathized by the suddenly strong breeze that whipped up around them and made the branches of the tree sway.

“I’m fine so long as people don’t try and make this day happy for me, it may seem strange but when they do it’s like they want me to forget Papa and I just can’t do that.”  Kaoru shook her head.  The tears were getting closer to the surface but she took a deep breath and tried to push those feelings deeper inside of herself.

“This one supposes that makes a little sense,” Kenshin began, he himself had similar feelings about the first snowfall though he was doing his best to work past that.  Kenshin was about to continue but he stopped as a loud rumble of thunder shook the ground and the white and fluffy clouds were suddenly replaced by a dark gray wall of the approaching storm.  “Come on we need to find shelter quick,” Kaoru jumped to her feet and with Kenshin they ran back the way they had come, trying to get back to the dojo before the storm broke.  They didn’t make it in time, halfway back to the dojo the storm broke and the rain poured down so hard that Kaoru could barely see her way.

“Kaoru-dono this way,” Kenshin grabbed her wrist and led her over to a building with a slight overhang.  They crowded into the little space, trying to stay under the little shelter they had as the rain continued to pour down.

“Well that came out of nowhere, it looked like it was going to be such a nice day.”  Kaoru moaned a little, pushing her wet hair out of her face with one hand.  “And this kimono was just washed too.”  She held her other arm out slightly as her wet clothes dripped on the ground, feeling uncomfortable in her soaked clothes.

“Don’t do that you’ll just get more wet,” Kenshin said as he pulled her arm back under the shelter of the overhand with his hand which still gripped her wrist.  Kaoru had all but forgotten Kenshin’s hold on her and judging from the look on Kenshin’s face, he had as well. 

He just looked at her with wide eyes for a moment before he loosened his grip and slipped his hand down and around Kaoru’s hand, keeping his eyes on her face, trying to judge her reaction to his action.

Kaoru glanced down at Kenshin’s hand and, blushing slightly, she shifted her hand around so she could grasp his hand in return before she looked back out at the rain.  Kenshin turned to face the street as well, grinning happily to himself as he held Kaoru’s hand in silence until the rain abated and they made their way home.

***

Sanosuke and Yahiko waited in the house after the rain abated until Kenshin and Kaoru walked up in their wet clothes.  “Are we still in trouble?” Yahiko asked in a little voice.  He had been hoping that if he was nice enough he would be able to get out of trouble. 

“You’re not in trouble brat,” Kaoru replied with a roll of her eyes.  “For the moment,” she clarified.

“Whew, that’s a relief.”  Sanosuke sighed.

“I never said you were out of trouble,” Kaoru snapped, her eyes flashed.  “You know how flushed we are for money, how dare you come in here begging for money that we all know you’ll never pay back!”

“I pay my debts,” Sanosuke protested.  “Eventually, sometimes it takes a while but I get around to it.  Kenshin,” Sanosuke pleaded to his friend, “I thought you were supposed to calm her down, what do you call this?”

“Karma,” Kenshin added unhelpfully with a big grin.  Sanosuke made a face at him, realizing that he wasn’t going to get any help in the matter. 

“I didn’t come here only to be harassed,” Sanosuke protested.

“Why are you here?” Yahiko asked suddenly, “You aren’t here just to beg money and mooch food off us are you?”

Judging from the look on Sanosuke’s face that was exactly what he had been planning on doing and everyone shook their heads with a sigh.  Later that afternoon, close to evening, Kaoru was walking through the house to where Kenshin was folding the laundry.  “It’s almost time to start dinner do you want me to make it or will you take care of it?”  Kaoru asked.  “And while we’re on it have you seen Yahiko or Sanosuke?  They just disappeared.”

“Oh this one sent them away,” Kenshin replied as he continued to fold the laundry.  “And don’t worry about dinner it’s taken care of.”

“You sent them away?”  Kaoru asked as she stepped forward and helped him to fold the laundry.  “Why?”

“So they could help Tae-dono to finish setting things up,” Kenshin replied.

“Huh, finish setting what up?”  Kaoru asked.

“The party.”

Kaoru snapped the clothes she was folding in reaction, “a party?  Please tell me this isn’t for me.”  Kenshin looked up apologetically and Kaoru clenched her jaw to hold back her frustrations.  “No, I’m not going.  Damn it, Tae knows how I feel, why the hell is she doing this?”  Kaoru turned away, upset and close to crying for the second time that day.

“Kaoru-dono,” Kenshin soothed trying to grab her arms and calm her down but Kaoru threw her arms to break his grip.

“No Kenshin, this is not okay, I’m not going.  I don’t have to.”  Kaoru replied in a panic. 

“Kaoru-dono, please, this one promised.  If you hate it then this one won’t keep you there,” Kenshin assured her.  “Please, they’ve spent a lot of time on this and I did promise.”  Watching Kaoru’s reaction, Kenshin realized that when Tae had told him how Kaoru felt about her birthday he had underestimated the intensity of her feelings on the affair.

“Fine, five minutes, but then I’m leaving and no one had better get in my way,” Kaoru agreed reluctantly.

“This one will clear the crowds himself if necessary,” Kenshin assured her.  “We should be leaving soon, once the laundry is finished.”

“I’m not dressing up for this,” Kaoru added, deciding to make her position understood that she was only doing this under extreme protest.

“I wasn’t going to make you,” Kenshin gently assured her.

_This is going to be a big mistake, why in the world did Tae decided to start celebrating my birthday again?_ Kaoru thought bitterly as she helped finish the laundry and then sort it out into the linen chest and people’s rooms.  Kenshin helped her close everything up and lock the complex before they made their way to Tae’s home.  Yahiko let them in once they got there and led them through the house.

“All right this is as far as you go Kaoru,” Yahiko stopped her, putting his hand out.  “Until you’ve been blindfolded,” Yahiko ordered with a stern look. 

“Excuse me?” Kaoru asked in disbelief. 

“It’s all right Kaoru-dono, you’ll only need to wear it for a little while,” Kenshin informed her.

“Why?”

“Because if you don’t it’ll ruin the surprise,” Yahiko told her.

“Ruin the surprise?” Kaoru asked with a raised eyebrow.  “What surprise?  I already know what’s going on.”

“You’ll see,” Kenshin told her with a secretive smile.  Kaoru started to feel the paranoia coming back, _I’m letting a former assassin and pickpocket blindfold me and then lead me to some unknown destination and they wonder why I’m not okay with this?_ Kaoru thought but she let Yahiko blindfold her and then Yahiko and Kenshin led her into the next room and then to her surprise kept her walking through the room out on to the porch and then carefully down the steps into the back garden. 

“Where are you two taking me?”  Kaoru asked.

“Here,” Yahiko told her as they brought her to a stop.  “Sit.”

“Can I take this off now?” Kaoru asked after she sat on a cushion, reaching her hands up to the knot of her blindfold.

“Not yet Kaoru,” she heard Tae’s voice from somewhere off on her left. 

“Just what are you guys playing at?”  Kaoru demanded, a little miffed.  “This isn’t the part where you tie me up, drag me to the river, take advantage of me, before killing me and throwing my body into the river is it?”

“Maybe later,” Sanosuke added to her right.  Kaoru reached out her hand to feel the cloth of Sanosuke’s haori. 

“All right who else is in on this madness?”  Kaoru asked. 

“We are!”  Kaoru felt Ayame and Suzume run up and give her a hug. 

“Hey you two,” Kaoru greeted the girls as she hugged them back.  “I wish I could say it was nice to see you,” she tried again to remove the blindfolded but Yahiko slapped her hands. 

“Not yet,” Yahiko warned her.

“Kaoru-chan, can’t you ever do as you’re told?” she heard Doctor Gensei’s voice. 

“Megumi, you there too?” Kaoru asked.

“Over here,” Kaoru twisted her head around in the other direction to face Megumi.

“Whoa, this is so pretty,” Suzume half whispered.

“What’s so pretty?”  Kaoru asked.

“Remember Suzume it’s a secret until Kaoru sees it for herself,” Doctor Gensei told the girl.

“Yes Grandpa,” Suzume replied in agreement.

_Damn it, he just silenced my_ _best source of information_ , Kaoru thought in frustration.

“Can we start eating now?” Yahiko asked next to Kaoru, his voice pleading.

The adults starting laughing, “Well I suppose we should start serving the food then,” Kaoru heard Chiyoko announced in an aloof tone.  Kaoru assumed that she agreed to this whole affair only under protest.  _Well that makes two of us._   Kaoru heard shuffling and clatter of utensils as the food was being served.  She could smell the delicious aromas of Tae’s cooking and then someone put something in front of her. 

“Here’s your food Kaoru,” Ayame told her, “and here is your chopsticks,” Ayame pressed them into Kaoru’s hand.

“You are going to make me eat blindfolded?” Kaoru asked, “You really won’t let me see?”

“Give us a second and then you can take off the blindfold,” Sanosuke replied.  Kaoru heard the rustle of cloth for a couple of seconds.  “All right you can take the blindfold off now.”

Kaoru needed no promoting, she ripped the cloth off her head and blinked in surprise.  They had constructed some type of tent like enclosure in the back-garden area and spread cushions and blankets for everyone to sit down on.  Everyone was sitting down in a circle passing the food around that Tae, Megumi, and Chiyoko were serving out.  “You put a blindfold on me so you could put me in a tent?” Kaoru asked in surprise. 

“It’s been a slow week, we needed something for kicks,” Sanosuke commented as he devoured his small fish on his tray and started chewing on the tailbone. 

Kaoru shook her head, “you’re all crazy,” she muttered under her breath, she started eating her dinner in silence, forcing a smile on her face as Ayame and Suzume excitedly kept the conversation swirling around them.  She knew that they insisted the girls be there because they knew she would be on her best behavior around them.  She thought it was a dirty trick.  They finished dinner and Kaoru forced herself to be sociable while she mentally counted down the seconds that she would be forced to sit there and endure this torture. 

She tried to leave after dinner once she thanked Tae and Chiyoko for hosting the affair, feigning a headache but Ayame and Suzume begged her to stay, wanting her to tell a story.  Kaoru sighed, not wanting to let the little girls down but really wanting to go.

“No please stay Kaoru,” Ayame and Suzume begged. 

“We want a story,” Ayame requested, jumping up and down on a cushion.

“Story, story, story!” Suzume begged.

“I really don’t feel like telling a story,” Kaoru protested. 

“What about Uncle Kenny telling us a story?” Suzume asked, her face turning expectedly to Kenshin.

“Kenshin?” Kaoru asked in surprise, “you want him to tell you a story?”  She knew that aside from historical events, Kenshin didn’t really have any stories to tell and she was sure that the girls probably didn’t want to hear a detail description of some war or battle. 

“Yeah, Uncle Kenny, why don’t you tell us a story?” Ayame spoke up, excited about the idea.

“Oro?” Kenshin gasped in surprise, this wasn’t what he signed up for but he could tell by a glance at Kaoru that he needed to do something or she was going to leave soon.  It was time for drastic action.   “Umm this one could try I suppose,” he offered hesitantly.

“Can you tell us a story with a princess in it?” Suzume asked happily.

“I want a true story,” Ayame wined.

“I want a story with a princess,” Suzume slammed her doll down against herself as if to emphasize her feelings on the matter.

“Calm down little one,” Kenshin soothed the girls as inspiration struck him.  “Actually, this one knows a story with a princess, and it’s a true story,” he assured Ayame.  He could see from the corner of his eye that Kaoru was no longer perched as if about to leave, he figured that she was probably as intrigued as the girls were to hear his story.  And the others had also quieted down, Kenshin felt a little nervous knowing that he had everyone’s full attention on him but he continued to play to the girls’ interest and ignore everyone else.

“Really Uncle Kenny?” the girls asked with shining eyes.

“Really,” Kenshin smiled fondly at the girls.  The girls looked at each other in excitement as Kenshin gathered his thoughts before beginning.  “Now this story takes place many years ago, during the Sengoku Jidai, the era of the warring states.” He explained.  “When many of the prefectures of Japan fought with the others, this story is about two of those prefectures, Kitkata and Nagumo.  In early winter, the large nation of Nagumo declared war on the smaller land of Kitakata.  The king of Kitakata knew that his land had no chance to win the war so he sued for peace.  Nagumo’s King, Hirosake Iwano, received the beautiful Princess Natsu as his wife and a peace treaty was forged.”

“Just when Kitakata felt safe, Nagumo broke the treaty and resumed its attacks.  The castle fell quickly and the King and his family were executed.  The scattered samurai of the land of Kitakata banded together to resist Iwano and his armies.  The battlefield was filled with men without fear of death, who fought until their strength gave out and they were slain.  But of course,” Kenshin added in a slightly lighter tone.  “There were exceptions…”

 

 


	5. Crescent Moon in the Warring States

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this was a little short story that Nobuhiro Watsuki had published before Rurouni Kenshin came out. I decided that this made a fun idea for an origin story for the first Master in Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu and just tried to make a good place in the story where we get to hear Kenshin tell a story.

**Chapter 4**

**Crescent Moon in the Warring States**

Isshinta, a sixteen-year-old boy, who wore only a trifling amount of armor that had been given to him after being stripped from those that had fallen before him, ran through the woods by the feeble light of the setting sun as fast as he could, not stopping for anything.  He had been taken from his village four days before to serve in the ragged army that the last remnants of the Kitakata resistance had put together. 

“Hyaaah!  I can’t take it!  I don’t want to die!”  Isshinta screamed, tears staining his cheeks and his nose running.  The fear of death and the panic fueled him as he crashed through the woods away from the horrific battle that was taking place behind him.  _Will I make it back to the village alive?  Natsu!  Isshinta’s on his way home now!_   Isshinta thought to himself.  All he thought of was getting away and getting back home as soon as he could.

“You!”  Soldiers of Nagumo shouted as they stepped in front of Isshinta on the path he had stumbled upon.  They blocked Isshinta’s escape and he slid to a stop, panting and trembling in fear.  “If you’re a soldier of Kitakata, fight to the death!”  They taunted.

Isshinta didn’t hesitate, he turned and ran off in the opposite direction, he turned a corner of the path and ran straight into the back of one Nagumo and was knocked on his rear.  He crawled backwards in fear realizing that a group of three Nagumo soldiers had now surrounded him.  He scrambled to his feet to turn back the way he had come but the two soldiers who had challenged him before had come up behind him.  Isshinta scrambled backwards till his back hit a tree, crying openly.

“Please don’t kill me,” he pleaded.  “Please.”

“He’s a solider of Kitakata?” one of the soldiers sneered as they pointed their weapons at him.  “No wonder their losing this war so badly if this is all this country can produced.  Weak willed boys who cry for their mother.”

“Just kill the brat,” spoke one of the soldiers who must be the highest ranking one among them.  “His crying is getting on my nerves.”

“I’ll split him in half,” one of the soldiers sneered as he stepped forward and raised his sword over his head.

Isshinta flinched back and closed his eyes, “please don’t.” he sobbed before something warm and liquid splashed across his face and body.  He opened his eyes to see the man who had been about to kill him had been cut in two cleanly, his blood and organs oozing onto the ground.  Isshinta’s month dropped open in horror at the sight and he felt his heart stop at the thought that it had been about to be him who looked like that.  He looked up in fear to see the man who saved his life. 

He was tall, with long black hair that hung past his waist and was held back in a simple ponytail instead of the topknot that most samurai wore.  But there was no doubt that the man was a samurai, he bore the dashio of the samurai, his katana in one hand was dripping blood on the ground as he spun to face the soldiers of Nagumo.  The armor he wore was dented and stained with blood and looked as though it had not been cleaned in a long time.  Isshinta had never seen a samurai look as disheveled as the man before him. 

“Wh-who are you?” the Nagumo soldiers asked, taking a step back from this demon of a man who had appeared is if from nowhere.

A slight smile crossed the man’s face as his fierce eyes looked at the soldiers before him as if calculating the skills of each and finding them lacking.  “An enemy,” he answered in a deep voice. 

Isshinta blinked and suddenly three men had been sliced open and collapsed to the ground while the last solider took off running in fright.  The samurai immediately took off after him.

 _Th-three men in one swing! C-could he be…?_ Isshinta realized in an instant the only man who could do what he had just seen.

“No running away!” the samurai yelled at the soldier, he leaped forward raising his sword to kill the soldier in one stroke but his leap fell short as he was tacked from behind as the Nagumo soldier disappeared into the woods.

“Hiko-sama!”  Isshinta cried in recognition, beaming at the man.  He knew that he had been founding in the woods and would probably never be able to make it through the patrols of the Nagumo soldiers without divine intervention of some kind.  He had never expected it to take the form of the most famous swordsman of Kitakata.  “The lightening fast sword taking down three men in one swing!”  Isshinta continued in excitement as the samurai pulled himself up off the ground.  “You must be the famous swordsmen Seijuro Hiko!   The samurai always said you will defeat the evil Iwano and save Kitakata…”  Isshinta was prevented from going on as Seijuro grabbed the boy’s collar and threw him to the ground.

“You stupid fool!  You let one escape!” he yelled at him, his face dark with rage.  “And what are you doing in enemy territory without a weapon?”  Seijuro demanded, seeing the boy had nothing more than the clothes and armor that he wore.

“Enemy territory?”  Isshinta whispered looking around in fright.  _I must have gone the wrong way…_   “Oh no!  I finally escaped the battlefield only to end up here!” he cried.

Seijuro sighed, disgusted with the sobbing boy in front of him.  He carefully cleaned his blade; the one thing about himself that he kept meticulously well cared for.  “I see, a deserter, a disgrace to all samurai,” Seijuro summed up, concluding who the boy must be.

Isshinta wiped his face with the back of his hand.  “I’m no samurai, I’m a farmer.” He protested.  “They took me from my village because they didn’t have enough soldiers.”

Seijuro mentally sighed at the boy’s explanation, he had half a mind to leave the boy where he was, _it won’t take long for that solider to find reinforcements and come back here.  That’s not a problem for me but this kid would be killed in an instant.  There’s no sense him hanging around just to die._   Seijuro was about to order Isshinta to leave the area, he was even going to point the way for the boy to get back into safe territory but he was cut off by a shout from behind him.

“There they are!  They’re both still here.  Kill them!”

Seijuro turned to see a whole squad of Nagumo soldiers coming their way, their weapons at the ready.

A fierce grin crossed his lips and he turned to face the latest challenge for him.  “Hmph, reinforcements,” he muttered to himself.  He crouched to face the soldiers, raising his sword, mentally predicting the flow of the battle, preparing for every move that his opponents could possible make and how to counter it.  He was about to leap forward at the soldiers who were cautiously approaching him, fear of his reputation and exploits in the past made them wary, when Isshinta stood up and grabbed hold of Seijuro from behind, clinging to him like a child.  “Fool, don’t hang onto me!  I can’t swing my sword with you on my back.,” he snarled at the boy.

“I-I’m scared, help me Hiko-sama I don’t want to die,” Isshinta pleaded.  His whole body trembling, in his panic he was convinced that if he let go of Seijuro that he would die in an instant.

Seijuro glared at the boy, watching the Nagumo soldiers from the corner of his eye.  He saw the grin on the soldiers as they also realized that with the boy clinging to him that he would be hindered in fighting back.  They sprang forward and charged him and Seijuro was forced to make a decision even though it was one he hated.  He grabbed Isshinta and practically dragged the boy as he took off running, it took the boy a little while before he got his feet under him and ran alongside Seijuro.  “You!  You’ve disgraced me, I never run!” he shouted at the boy as the Nagumo soldiers pursed them.

“After him, don’t let them get away!”  The sergeant yelled, urging his men forward.

***

At the Nagumo war headquarters a council was being held as the latest reports from the field filtered in.

“What?  Seijuro Hiko has resurfaced?” Iwano gasped in surprise.  It had been months since there had been a confirmed sighting of him.  Iwano had assumed that he had been killed in the intervening time. 

“Indeed, Iwano-dono.” The messenger continued from where he was kneeling on the floor of the tent.  “What other man could kill three men in one swing?” he asked.

“The kenjutsu master of Kitakata, Seijuro Hiko.”  Iwano mused, rubbing his chin as he contemplated the situation with satisfaction.  “Most loyal of the followers of Kitakata, he is worshipped as a savior by the remaining samurai.  In other words…” Iwano paused, before he turned to his generals, “Kitakata’s last hope!” he slammed his fist down on the field table.  _And my only rival for her…_   “He acts alone, so we’ve never been able to capture him, but now is our chance!  We’re moving out and I will accompany the army this time,” Iwano declared.

“What?” the generals gasped in surprise, glancing at each other in alarm.

“Iwano-dono, it’s too dangerous,” the top ranking general and the leader of the invasion declared, trying to urge his lord into seeing sense.  “The Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu that he wields is an invincible sword of godly speed!  When he uses his secret moves, he’s said to kill not 3, but 100 men in one swing!  While this is clearly an exaggeration he is still a _very_ dangerous man whose hatred of you will not stop until one or the other is dead.  Take him lightly only at peril to your own life.”

“Yes, yes, yes, very impressive, but a sword is sword.”  Iwano waved off the concern of his generals.  “He won’t stand a chance against you-know-what!”  Iwano laughed at the thought of Hiko finally dead at his feet.  “I won’t be satisfied if I don’t finish him off myself, let’s go,” he ordered in a commanding tone.

***

The Nagumo soldiers searched through the dark woods by the light of torches, searching every bush and behind every tree, being as thorough as possible.  The last time that Seijuro Hiko had been spotted two soldiers had let him escape and he was never seen again until now.  The soldiers who searched for him now, knew full well what had happened to the two soldiers who had let him escape four months before.  None of the men who search now wanted to suffer that fate and so they moved slowly and cautiously, not missing anything.

“Is he there?”

“No, not this way,” another solider called out, leading his group of men towards another section of woods that had yet to be searched.

“They can’t get far in the darkness of the new moon!  Search them out, no matter _what_ it takes!” an officer yelled from the back of his horse.

The soldiers of Nagumo eventually moved to another area of woods and the sounds of their presence faded into the night.  After several minutes of complete silence and darkness, two figures, barely visible in the darkness of the new moon, came down a tree.  The clink of armor followed their every move as they carefully made their way in the opposite direction of the Nagumo soldiers until they came to a river by a series of cliffs.  The taller figure led the smaller into a crack in the cliff that was a tiny gorge.  They made their way till the end of the gorge before they stopped and the smaller figure collapsed on the ground, exhausted after the day’s events.

“There’s quite a lot of men after us,” Seijuro mused as he glanced down the gorge.  _I must be getting popular.  Iwano should have been this persisted about killing me as he was the lord and his family when Kitakata still stood.  A lot of his men would still be alive if that were the case._  

Isshinta ignored Seijuro, he was shaking and crying uncontrollably, Seijuro turned to look at the boy and shook his head, “how did I get myself into this mess?” the boy sobbed.  “It was so nice before,” the boy continued.  “Peaceful and prosperous, the lord was kind to the peasants and I was happy to be a peasant.  Why did this have to happen?”

“Boy,” Seijuro snapped, his patience wearing thin.  If the boy sobbed anymore he had half a mind to throw him into the river and be done with the matter.  “Stop thinking about the days that can never come again.  This is no longer a time of peace but of blood and death.  Run if you want to live, they are desperate enough to finish me off you might have a chance.  If you stay with me you will die.”

“But- but- but,” Isshinta protested, trying to make Seijuro understand.  “I can’t escape alone.  If any soldiers find me I can’t defend myself.  I don’t have any weapons on me and I don’t how to fight anyways.”

“Then you chose the grave,” Seijuro turned away, he couldn’t pity the boy now if he didn’t even have the courage to seize the small chance he might have in living. 

“No!” Isshinta shouted at Seijuro’s back, his voice suddenly sure and strong for the first time since Seijuro had met him.  “I don’t want to die!  I can’t die!  Natsu’s waiting for me in the village, I have to get back to her!”

Seijuro felt his body go numb with shock at the sound of the girl’s name.  _Natsu is waiting…_ Seijuro’s hands started shaking at the thought.  “Natsu?” he asked, his voice in a half whisper.

“That’s right,” Isshinta continued, “Natsu…”

 

_“Natsu!” Isshinta cried.  The soldiers of the last of Kitakata had rounded up every man in their village that could wield a weapon to become a part of their army.  He had only a few minutes to say good-bye to his family as did the rest of the men of their village.  Isshinta held onto Natsu’s hands, the other men of the village were whispering their own farewells to their loved ones and somewhere was Isshinta’s own family but all he could see before him, all that mattered to him, was Natsu.  He was sure that this would be the last time he would ever see her, the girl he was supposed to marry in less than a month, and he wished for some way to delay that awful moment when he would have to leave her._

_“I don’t want to go to war,” Isshinta continued, tears forming in his eyes.  “I won’t win any glory and I’m scared Natsu.”_

_Natsu’s soft face hardened, she was just as terrified as he that something would happen to him while he was away fighting.  But she was wise enough to know that if Isshinta continued to cry and be consumed with fear that he would have no chance on the battlefield.  She slapped Isshinta hard across the face causing his head to whirl to one side.  Isshinta looked in alarm at Natsu’s face that was fuming with rage.  “Quit crying!” she ordered harshly.  “Crying won’t change anything you know!  You’ll die if you’re such a coward Isshinta.”_

_Isshinta blinked hurt eyes at her, Natsu’s shoulders sagged a little in defeat, and her face softened slightly.  She reached into the sleeve of her kimono and pulled out a small object that she held in her clasped hands.  “Give me your arm,” she ordered, “hold one hand out.”  Isshinta obediently held out his arm and Natsu tied a string with a simple wooden token attached to it.  “This is a keepsake of my mother’s,” she explained.  “A charm that will make cowards stronger.  I’ll give it to you so you’ll stop crying.”_

_Isshinta examined the charm closely, reading the symbols carved into the wood.  “Why does it say ‘safe childbirth’ though?” he asked in confusion._

_“It’s to make you stronger okay!” Natsu protested violently, Isshinta looked at her in alarm, not wanting to upset her any further, he wisely kept his mouth shut.  “You come back alive Isshinta,” she pleaded, her voice suddenly soft and a little sad.  “I’ll be waiting for you, and I’ll never forgive you if you don’t come back.”_

“I promised her,” Isshinta finished his tale to Seijuro.  “That’s why I ran from the battle, I knew that if I stayed I would die and I promised.  I promised Natsu I would make it back and we would get married like we planned.”  Isshinta looked at Seijuro with fierce eyes.  “I just can’t die, I’ve got to get back to Natsu, I won’t leave her waiting!”

“Ahh,” Seijuro sighed in understanding.  “So you run, for the sake of a girl…”  _He’s not a fool afterwards, well, maybe a little…_

“Yeah I’m a coward,” Isshinta’s eyes dropped to the ground and his voice softened.  “I’m no hero, I don’t know why Natsu would ever want someone like me, after what I’ve done I don’t deserve her, but no matter what I have to get back to her.”

 _On the contrary,_ Seijuro thought, his thoughts bitter with self-loathing.  _You deserve your love, you would rather betray yourself and your country to keep your promise to the one who waits for you.  While I…_

“Well running won’t be much good during a new moon,” Seijuro pointed out, his feelings towards the boy growing now that he understood why he acted the way he did.  “It’s probably best to sleep quietly till dawn.”

“Oh, okay, do you think we’ll be safe here?”

“For the moment, the soldiers have already searched this area, it will be a while at least before they come back to this section of the woods.”  Seijuro commented as he sat on the ground and drew his cape around himself, resting his head. 

***

Seijuro slid back the doors to the temple and the light of the almost full moon filled the area, mixing with the soft light of the candles that had been lit inside.  He looked upon the figure of a beautiful young woman, her clothes, hair, jewelry, and demeanor clearly showed that she was a woman of wealth and breeding.  Her face was turned downwards as Seijuro walked in, her eyelashes flickered his way for a moment and Seijuro’s heart leapt in his chest when her eyes met his before she looked back down to the floor before her.  She folded her hands in her lap.

“You found me,” she whispered.

“I knew that you would be here,” Seijuro replied softly.  This was their spot, where they could steal a few moments away from the prying eyes of the court.  She would come here as part of her temple duties and to pray.  Seijuro had never been a regular at any temple until he had met her.  The happiest moments for the past two years had been in this temple where he could steal a word or two from her lips before she had to leave.  “It’s late and everyone in the castle is worried when they realized that you weren’t there.  It’s time to go back now, you- you will need your rest before tomorrow,” Seijuro told her softly, stuttering a little when he thought about what the next day would mean for both of them.

“Seijuro-sama,” Natsu called softly, not moving from where she kneeled.  “What feelings do you have for me?” she asked calmly.  “Am I merely the princess of the land you serve, as I am to all samurai?”

Seijuro’s breath caught at her simple question and poignancy of it.  “To me,” he replied in a deep voice.  “You are like the moon, you shine a soft light onto this darkness called war.  If it were allowed,” he paused.  Though they had spoken often, he had done his best to never betray the depths of his feelings towards the Princess, knowing full well that if his feeling became known that he would never see her again.  But the more he thought about what the morning would bring, the more it made him want to say what his heart longed to speak.  “I would wish for you to stay by my side forever,” he almost whispered but she heard every word that he spoke.

Princess Natsu gasped, covering her mouth with her hands at his confession before she dropped her hands to her chest.  “As I wish to stay by Master Seijuro’s side,” she replied, her voice trembling slightly as she confessed the feelings, that like Seijuro, she had kept carefully hidden.  She looked up towards him, her face pleading and desperate.  She got to her feet and reached towards Seijuro clasping the hands he held out to her and drawing close to him.  “Please Seijuro-sama,” she pleaded, “take me, and let’s run away from here, I didn’t want to marry Iwano, I want to be with you.  Please, please I love you,” she begged, reaching her hand up to touch Seijruo’s face.

Seijuro turned his head away from her, trying to distance himself from her despite how he wanted to take her into his arms and kiss her tears away.  He forced himself to think about the men he had trained who had died so far in the war, he forced himself to think about their families who had lost their provider and the children who would grow up without their father.  It gave him the strength to do what he needed to do.  “But then Kitakata would be forced into a war they can’t win.  I’m sorry but I can’t do what you ask, it’s time to go back now,” he pushed her away, Natsu screamed and he looked in shock as suddenly a darkness began to swallow her up.  “Princess Natsu!” he yelled reaching his hand out, trying to reach her before the darkness completely consumed her.  _My legs,_ he thought in panic.  His legs were frozen and he couldn’t move, he couldn’t do anything but watch helplessly as Natsu was taken from him.  “Natsu- sama, Natsu…!”

Seijuro came awake, his hand out as though to pull Natsu back from the darkness that had consumed her.  He was panting, his heart pounding against his ribs, and his limbs were shaking.  _It was just a dream, just a dream…_ he thought to himself, as he got to his feet shaking.

“What?” Isshinta came awake at Seijuro’s yells.  He glanced around the gorge in surprise.  “N-Natsu you say?  Where, where is she?”  He looked at Seijuro for explanation.

“It was just a dream, nothing to concern yourself with.” Seijuro told him, trying to calm himself down, slow his breathing, and make his hands stop shaking in fright.  But try though he might, he couldn’t get rid of the image of the darkness consuming his love. 

Isshinta tilted his head as he watched Seijuro, the explanation he was given didn’t satisfy him and his mind puzzled over the events trying to make sense of them.  “You don’t mean my Natsu?” he asked slowly, watching Seijuro closely for a reaction.  “So does that mean that you love someone named Natsu to, and that is why you were screaming that in your sleep?”  Isshinta saw Seijuro’s head swirl around in surprise and he figured that he had guessed correctly.  His mind whirled as he thought about it more closely, there was something about the name, _the name,_ and then it hit him.  He remembered that when it had first been proposed that he and Natsu married it had been because the war was supposed to end when the lord of Kitakata’s daughter married Iwano.  “The Princess of Kitakata who was taken by Kirosake Iwano in the fake peace treaty,” Isshinta exclaimed as the pieces clicked in his head.  “She has the same name as my Natsu.”  Suddenly another fact hit Isshinta and he paused.  “But she’s a princess.  And you Hiko-sama,” he bit his lip, “you did just teach kenjutsu at the palace right?”

“Hmph,” Seijuro grunted in reply.  His emotions finally back under control and his normal calm demeanor firmly in place.  “You’re not as stupid as you look.  It as you surmise, love between a princess and a lowly samurai like I would never be allowed.”

“A secret love then…” Isshinta breathed, understanding a little more of the strange personality of the man before him.

“But that’s all over now,” Seijuro leaned against the cliffs and looked away. “I have no right to love, or to be loved.  Not after my abandonment of the Princess.”

“Abandonment?”  Isshinta questioned in confusion.  “In what way did you…?”

“Princess Natsu begged me to take her away the night before she went to Iwano,” Seijuro explained shortly.  “But I could not do that.  My loyalty to the lord didn’t allow me.  So instead I abandoned Princess Natsu to go to the man who would order the death of her family and the destruction of the land of her birth.  Unlike you, I did not allow my personal feelings to influence me and so caused her a wound that will never heal.  I would not listen to her first, and last, selfish wish.”

Silence fell between them and Isshinta clenched his fists in his lap, anger fueled his soul at this revelation.  He understood the circumstances that had led his land to going to war more clearly now.  Before it was just the news that the lord and his family had been killed and the daughter, who wed the lord of the opposing land in a treaty that should have brought peace, was now considered to be a hostage at Iwano’s hands.  Now he understood a side to the story that only a few others knew of.  It was personal now. 

“No,” the harshness of his voice surprised even Isshinta, it seemed almost as though it was coming from someone else, not from his own throat.  “Being loyal to his master is a samurai’s duty.  No one can blame you for that.  It’s not yours or the Princess’s fault!” he cried rising his eyes to face Seijuro, trying to make him see what Isshinta now saw so clearly.  “It’s Iwano’s fault, he’s the villain!  He’s the one who broke his word and attacked Kitkata after there was supposed to be peace.  He’s the one who hurt Princess Natsu by killing her family and continued the war with Kitakata.”  Isshinta lowered his head to the ground, bowing to Seijuro as he pleaded, “I beg you to defeat Iwano Hiko-sama.  Unlike me, you’re strong, you can do it.  Please bring peace with that sword once again to this land, and please,” he raised his face to Seijuro.  “Please bring back Princess Natsu.”

Seijuro shook his head, “it might have been Iwano who took her and did as you say, but before any of that took place it was still I who abandoned her.  As days go by, the tears that had fallen from her eyes can never flow back.”

“But Hiko-sama,” Isshinta tried to plead.

“Enough,” Seijuro cut him off.  “It is a fact that I abandoned the Princess, nothing will change that.”

Isshinta looked at his hands, he thought about how his Natsu would feel if she was in the same position as the Princess Natsu and he felt an overwhelming sorrow grip his soul and the tears began to flow from his eyes once again.  “But the Princess Natsu, what will become of her?  Will she have to cry forever then?”  He asked in desperation, looking to Seijuro for an answer.

Seijuro gazed at the boy, surprised that the he could even still cry after all the tears he had shed that night, he would have thought he was past it now.  He was even more shocked to find him so broken up over someone that he had never met before.  “You really…?”

“I found them, They’re here!”

A shout drew them back to the present and they realized then that Seijuro’s screams earlier had attracted the attention of the Nagumo soldiers after all.  “Blast it,” Seijuro swore, he drew his sword and leapt forward, slaying the soldier before he could utter another word but he knew the damage had already been done.  He could hear the shout echoed through the trees and the scores of other soldiers were starting to move in their direction from all sides.  There was no escape for them now.  “This is bad,” he muttered to himself as he looked around.  He quickly assessed the situation and knew there was only one thing to be done and there was little time to act.

Isshinta started shaking, gripping the side of the cliffs as he saw the hordes of torches coming in their direction, “I don’t want to die, I don’t want to die,” he whispered over and over to himself in some kind of chant, as if that alone would spare his life.  “Natsu…”

Seijuro carefully cleaned his sword, “I didn’t catch your name,” he directed at Isshinta.

Isshinta shook his head, turning back to Seijuro, “huh?  It’s Isshinta.”  _Why would that matter now?_

“All right Isshinta,” Seijuro answered as he sheathed his weapon.  “You run alone from here, follow the cliffs to the right until you reach where the river branches, follow the left fork and that will lead you to safe ground.”

“Wha-?” Isshinta gasped, his mind not comprehending what was going on.

“Don’t worry, I’ll keep the soldiers at bay and since you can’t run without a weapon,” he passed his sheathed katana back to Isshinta who took it, more from reflex than anything.  “This is the Hiten Mitarsugi-ryu heirloom, the ‘winter moon’, once you reach safety, sell it, and use it for traveling money.”

“Hiko-sama, master, are you planning to die?” Isshinta asked in fear, the sounds of the soldiers getting closer.

“There they are!”

“Remember no reckless attacks, this is the invincible Hiko we face.”

“Surround them!”

“Don’t worry about me, go!” Seijuro ordered.

“But Hiko-sama,” Isshinta wasn’t sure why he was standing his ground, his instincts screamed at him to run but something was holding him in place.

“Isshinta, I haven’t spent these last four months of war trying to win, I have been looking for a battlefield to fight in, and to die in.”  Isshinta gasped and took a half step backwards.  “I have been looking for a place to die, as a samurai.  I will not live as an empty shell anymore.  I will not live without Natsu.”  Seijuro saw the soldiers breaking through the trees and heading towards them and Isshinta was still behind him.  He turned and grabbed the boy in anger, “What are you staring at?” he demanded.  “I’m telling you to run, unlike me you have a home and someone waiting for you.  Go back and make your Natsu happy, don’t make her cry over losing you!”  He shoved the boy away and Isshinta stepped back a couple of steps, his eyes full of fear as he now saw in Seijuro’s eyes what he had failed to see before, the overwhelming urge for death.  Death to release him from the pain of living, the pain of ever facing the woman he had betrayed.  It was that which recalled Isshinta to the situation and he turned and ran, clenching the katana to his chest in desperation. 

“Hiko-sama,” he whispered to himself as he fled the scene.

“Go,” Seijuro whispered softly as the soldiers began to charge him and he faced his enemy with a heavy heart, _bring joy to your love that I never could for mine._

“One of them is running!” a solider shouted, pointing at Isshinta’s retreating figure.

“Never mind that one!” an officer replied.  “It’s Hiko we want, kill Hiko!”

 _I am glad to meet someone who could cry for another at the end Isshinta,_ Seijuro thought as the hordes of soldiers charged him.

“I’ve got you!” a large, bald man screamed as he leaped at Hiko from behind.  The man’s eyes widened when Seijuro, without moving or turning his head, caught the man’s blade with his wakizashi in a block over his shoulder.  He held the man’s ax back easily with one hand.

“I may be looking for a place to die,” Seijuro calmly informed his attackers.  He jerked the man’s ax away and coolly sliced through him with a quick turn and slash of his sword, “but I won’t let you have my head so easily!”  The rest of the soldiers paused for an instant at how easily he defeated the first man. Despite his obvious disadvantage in weapons, the soldiers were not entirely convinced that he could be killed but they regained their courage and charged again.  Seijuro cut through his enemies, leaving a trail of carnage in his wake.  _Not much can be done with only a wakizashi but still I will dance the last Hiten Mitsurugi.  Run Isshinta!  You, at least can live, return to the village where your love wants and make her happy, for Princess Natsu._

_***_

Isshinta stumbled through the woods until finally his strength gave out and he collapsed to his knees panting.  He thought about Seijuro, back by the river, of all the soldiers who were attacking, seeking his head.  He thought about everything he had learned that night, about the drama behind the war that had forced him from his home. 

“Natsu…” he whispered, clasping the charm she had given him that was still tied around his wrist.  He remembered how the sun lit her hair, the sound of her laugh, her dark eyes.  “Natsu,” now it wasn’t his Natsu that he pictured, but a woman somewhere in that night, alone, crying for the man she believed that she would never see again.  A girl who had been forced into a marriage with the man who slaughtered her family.

“Natsu…”  Isshinta clenched the charm harder, grabbed up the weapon that Seijuro had given him and looked back the way he had come.  From somewhere far off he could hear the sounds of the battle, and despite his shaking body and the fear that gripped his heart he turned back with a sense of purpose.

***

The soldiers stepped back in fear from Seijuro.  Seijuro held his wakizashi in a defensive position in front of himself, he panted and was covered in sweat but despite the fact that he seemed exhausted, the trail of bodies surrounding him attested to his prowess. 

“Uhh, he’s a demon,” the soldiers cried out, shaking in fear.

“What’s the matter?” Seijuro roared in challenged.  “Can’t any of you finish me?  I’m weary of killing.”

“Seijuro Hiko, I accept your challenge, a duel then.” A new voice broke in and the soldiers looked behind their ranks for the source of that voice.

 _That voice,_ Seijuro thought in realization, it was a voice he remembered well. 

“Mine against yours,” Iwano broke through the ranks of his soldiers.  “Even Hiten Mitsurugi can’t beat a gun.”  Iwano pointed the hand cannon he held in his hands at Seijuro.

“Iwano you coward,” he whispered as Iwano pulled the trigger and the sound of gunfire echoed through the trees.  The shot tore through Seijuro’s left shoulder and he stumbled back.  He gripped his wound and struggled to bring himself back to his feet, ready for the fight despite the pain rippling through his body. 

Iwano handed his gun to a soldier and held his hand out until another had been placed as his first was being reloaded.  He walked closer, he was a thin, unimposing man with a mustache, only his eyes made him stand out, eyes that betrayed the sadistic and cruel man beneath.  “You are Kitakata’s last hope,” Seijuro raised his sword but Iwano hit him with butt of his gun and sent the sword flying.  Seijuro glared at Iwano as he raised the gun and pointed it at his enemy.  “After I finish you, Kitakata is as good as mine, and Natsu,” he sneered.  Seijuro’s eyes turned from hate of his enemy into confusion.  “I saved that woman from death by making her my wife but all she does is cry. She cries for you, well, I’ll give you to her.  I’ll give her your bloody corpse, then she, and Kitakata, will be mine!” he raised his weapon, about to fire.

 _Gods,_ Seijuro swore to himself as Iwano spoke, taunting him, _then this is how it ends, with my mortal enemy before me._ He looked past Iwano, past the soldiers, and he saw the gleam of light in the darkness, a gleam from somewhere above them.  _The moon and the clouds have cleared and the moon is shining, this will make escape easier for Isshinta._   Seijuro suddenly realized what that night was, _but it’s a new moon tonight, a night of darkness, then that crescent moon must be…_ his eyes widened as he saw that crescent shape getter closer and closer. 

“Isshinta!” he shouted, Iwano flinched and pulled his finger off the trigger and looked behind him to see who Seijuro was shouting to.  “You idiot why did you come back?  Do you want to die?” Seijuro demanded, ignoring Iwano before him.

Isshinta broke through into the circle of light from the soldiers’ torches.  Seijuro could see even from where he was that Isshinta’s eyes were closed and his body was shaking as he charged the soldiers heading towards the sound of Seijuro’s voice.

“I don’t want to die!” he screamed as he swung blindly around himself, slicing through soldiers more out of luck and the frenzy at which he moved than from any skill.  “I want to see Natsu alive!”

“Then turn around and run!” Seijuro tried to convince him as Isshinta was rapidly closing the distance between them and swinging his way into the thick of the soldiers. 

“But you have to live to see your Natsu!” Isshinta stumbled on the rough ground and his mad charge came to a halt as he scrambled to his feet and the soldiers around him started closing in.  Isshinta grabbed his weapon and held in front of him, personally, Seijuro didn’t see how the boy stood much more of a chance with his eyes now open than before when they had been closed.  He was crying so much that Seijuro was sure he couldn’t see anything. 

Isshinta started swinging wildly but it didn’t take the soldiers long to disarm the boy, the katana went flying through the air off within three yards to Seijuro’s right. 

“No don’t kill him!” Iwano ordered with a glance between Isshinta and Seijuro.  “Bring him over here,” Iwano ordered, motioning with his gun.  Isshinta was forced by two soldiers to kneel over by Seijuro.  “It would seem that you two have something to say to each other, so go on, finish your conversation.”  Iwano taunted with a cruel smile, keeping his gun trained on the two of them.

Seijuro was fuming with anger, “You fool!” he cursed Isshinta.  “You came back to tell me that?  I’m the man who abandoned Princess Natsu, I have no place to run too, and I have no right to return to Natsu.  You should have taken your chance at life and stayed away from this place.”

Isshinta’s tears coated his face and his body was trembling but he looked at Seijuro in disbelief.  “Hiko-sama, you really have no idea about anything do you?” he asked slowly.  “Don’t you realize that Princess Natsu must be crying for you?  Don’t you realize that if you run away through death then Princess Natsu’s tears will never end?  They will only end when she sees you again, can’t you see that?”

“Isshinta…” Seijuro whispered to himself.

“Shut up you weakling!” Iwano hit his gun across Isshinta’s face, knocking the boy to the ground.  “Your voice is annoying.”

“Natsu,” Seijuro whispered to himself, he now realized that Isshinta was right.  There was only one way to bring peace to the woman he loved, and for that he had to fight back now.  While Iwano was distracted by hitting Isshinta, Seijuro got to his feet, the pain in his shoulder suddenly fading.  He shoved Iwano off balance with one hand, knocking him to the ground as he took two steps to his right and grabbed his katana that had been knocked from Isshinta’s hands earlier. 

“I’m taking Natsu back Iwano!” he challenged, shifting his sword before him, readying himself for his final move.

Iwano got back to his feet and lifted his gun to Seijuro, “Keep yapping, you can’t beat a gun with a sword,” he sneered.

“Can’t I?” Seijuro grinned a fierce grin, a wild look in his eye.  Iwano took aim and fired but this time Seijuro moved out of the way and continued his forward charge.  Iwano tried to defend himself by raising his gun to block Seijuro’s slash.  Seijuro however was already prepared for such a move.

 _Now for you to learn the secret move, Hiten Mygen-zan._   He sprung from the ground at the last instant, flipping cleanly over Iwano’s head and landing behind him before he turned an in five quick moves, cleanly cut Iwano into pieces.  “You can apologize to my lord in hell,” he sneered.  He looked at the soldiers, raising his sword that dripped in the blood of their master.  “Does anyone else wish to continue this battle?”

The soldiers looked at each other for a moment before the general consensus was made and they broke and run, fleeing into the woods to escape the demon that stood before them.

Isshinta saw the whole thing and his trembling still hadn’t stopped. _Scary man,_ he thought to himself.

“Answer me this Isshinta.”  Seijuro called to Isshinta as he cleaned his weapon.  “If you return to the village and Natsu is not there, then what will you do?”

Isshinta blinked in shock at the simple nature of the question.  “I-I-I love Natsu, I’ll search for her forever!” he declared violently.

“Heh,” Seijuro laughed to himself.  “Of course you would.  Well Isshinta,” he turned to Isshinta, “do you want to help me now to bring joy to both of the woman we care for?”

***

It was almost morning at Lord Nagumo, Hirosake Iwano’s castle.  Natsu was woken from her sleep by the screams of men as they were killed.  She sat upright in bed, her eyes wide in fright.  She heard the clash of steel outside her quarters.  _An attack!_   She thought in fright.  She scrambled from her bed, not sure what to do so she grabbed a robe, put it on, and hid behind some screens clenching the only weapon she could find, a vase, tightly in her hands.  She was determined that if any man tried to take her she would fight back as well as she could. 

She heard the doors to her room slid back and she sunk further back into the shadows, glancing through the gaps in the screen to see the intruder.  The man strolled into the room calmly and saw the empty bed, the covers thrown back.  Natsu prayed that he would believe that she had wakened early and wasn’t in the room. 

The steps of the intruder crept closer to where she hid and Natsu stopped breathing, clenching her vase tighter in her hands.  The intruder threw back the screen and Natsu sprung forward, raising her vase to attack the man, but he grabbed her arm before the blow could land and Natsu saw the face of the intruder for the first time. 

“Seijuro-sama…” she gasped, the vase falling from her hands to crash into pieces on the floor. 

Seijuro smiled sadly at her, letting go of her wrist.  “I’m sorry to be so late Princess Natsu.”  Natsu let out a gasp of joy as she flung her arms around Seijuro and held him tightly.

“Hiko-sama, have you found the…” Isshinta crept into the room to see Seijuro and Natsu hugging.  He stepped back out into the hallway to give them privacy.  _Never mind I think we found her._

“Take me away from here,” Natsu whispered to Seijuro, pulling her head back to look Seijuro in the eye.

“As the Princess orders,” Seijuro replied soothing back her hair.

***

Two weeks later in a small village the peasant girl Natsu was hard at work in the fields helping to bring in the harvest, her mind focused on cutting the field with a kama in her hand.  The men who had been drafted into the army had returned now that the war was over, the ones who had been killed had been told of their loved one’s death by the men of the village that had returned.  Natsu and Isshina’s family had been told only that they had seen Isshinta on the battlefield but that was the last they had seen him and his body had not been found.  The past week had been a living hell for Natsu and she welcomed the work before her, it gave her something to do to take her mind off of contemplating what might have happened to Issinta.

“Natsu!  Natsu!  I’m back!”

Natsu’s head whipped around at a familiar voice and her heart leaped in joy.  With a surge of happiness, she saw Isshinta running towards her.

“Isshinta!” she gasped as she took off running, leaving the harvest behind her.  She saw a glimpse of the people who had been with Isshinta and a cold hand gripped her heart though her feet were only spun on faster. 

“Natsu, I’ve missed you so much!”  Isshinta started to greet her but was forced to grab Natsu’s hands as she brought her kama down towards his head.  “Natsu what are you doing?” he gasped.

“Isshinta!  Wh-what are you doing?” she screamed in rage at him.  “Who are those women?  Camp followers form the battlefield I suppose?”

“No, no, no,” Isshinta protested.  “They’re not camp followers.  One is the samurai who saved my life and the other is his wife!”

“Huh?” Natsu asked, dropping the kama to her side.

“Isshinta!”

“Welcome home.”

The people of the village rushed forward to greet Isshinta.  “Women?” Seijuro protested and the Princess laughed slightly, wisely saying nothing.  “Well it seems as though you two will get along just fine.  We should be going now.”  He directed to Isshinta who was surrounded by his friends and family who were welcoming him home.

“What?” Isshinta protested, “Don’t you want to stay and have some tea?”

Seijuro shook his head, “We have a lot to do in order to rebuild this nation.  I’ll visit when we have the time.”

“We’ll be waiting Hiko-sama,” Isshinta waved back as Seijuro and his princess left.

“Rebuild?  Hiko?  Hiko?”  Natsu turned to Isshinta, looking for an explanation.

“Yep, that was the new lord and lady of Kitakata,” Isshinta explained with a wide grin.

“Ohh,” Natsu gasped, one hand on her mouth. “And I was so rude to them.”

 

“And more time passed by, healing the wounds of war in an era where the moon shone gently.” Kenshin finished the story.  Suzume and Ayame’s eyes were shining and he was sure that they had stopped breathing at some point.

“That was a wonderful story Kenshin-san,” Tae complimented.  “You said that it’s a true story?”

Kenshin nodded, “this one’s Master told it to him, it’s about the founder of our school.”  _Well style, Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu isn’t really a school._

“Is that how your Master told the story?” Kaoru asked in curiosity.

Kenshin stopped for a moment as he thought about it, he had tried to portray Isshinta as the frightened coward turned hero at the end, emphasizing that despite everything Isshinta had stood up for what was right in the end to persuade Hiko.  Then Kenshin remembered how his Master had described him, _“the snotty nose chicken who didn’t have the sense to run or the wits to fight comes running back to the battle field crying like the baby he was.  He was spouting some nonsense about Hiko making Natsu-dono cry over his death or some rot like that in order to keep him from dying an honorable death in battle.”_

“Yep, that is exactly how Master told it,” Kenshin filled in, _well how Master would have told it if he wasn’t such a sarcastic narcissist._

“Well I guess it’s time to leave now,” Kaoru stated, about to get up.

  “Just stand there Kaoru, one second before you run off on us,” Yahiko ordered, getting to his feet and grabbing hold of the cords that were holding the sides of the makeshift tent in place, Sanosuke also grabbed a set of cords and untying the knots. 

“Ready?” Sanosuke asked and Yahiko nodded back.  They pulled on the cords and the blankets fell down.  Kaoru’s eyes widened as she looked around the garden, her mouth falling open slightly.  Night had fallen completely while they had been under the tent, and Kaoru understood why they had kept her under the tent until after dark.  There were a dozen of paper lanterns hung in the trees, the walls, anywhere they could hook them.  Kaoru knew in an instant that they had done that at Kenshin’s direction, after all, she had only told him about what her father had done to get her to start talking again after the death of her mother. 

She felt a soft smile lighten her features as she spun slowly around, the soft light from the lanterns casting shadows all around.  For the first time in the past two days she stopped thinking about the circumstances of her father’s death and all the painful memories associated with that.  All she thought about was that night she spent with her father in their home.  She felt Tae come up next to her and put a hand on her shoulder. 

“Well Kaoru, do you like it?” she asked softly.

“I love it,” Kaoru replied, her eyes shining.  “Kenshin was behind all of this isn’t he?”

“That man is a quite a catch Kaoru,” Tae whispered to her.  “Marry him.”

“Working on it,” Kaoru whispered back.  “Never mind, I guess it would be rude for the guest of honor to leave in the middle of the party,” she announced to the group.

“Now that sounds better, time to break out the booze,” Sanosuke agreed.

“None for you Yahiko,” Kaoru warned, stopping Yahiko as he tried to grab up one of the saki cups as Chiyoko started serving Sanosuke and Doctor Gensei.

“But Kaoru,” the boy protested.  “I’m old enough.  I’m not a little kid you know.”

“Yes you are and I said no saki,” Kaoru’s voice turned harsh. 

 _I thought this was supposed to be a party,_ Yahiko grumbled to himself, setting his cup back on his tray.

“Better luck next time Yahiko-chan,” Sanosuke teased ruffling up the boy’s hair. 

“Leave me alone,” Yahiko pushed him away.  He glanced at Kaoru, who for the first time since she arrived was sitting and chatting happily with Tae, Ayame, Suzume, and Megumi.  _Well at least she’s finally having a good time._


	6. The Recruitment of Students

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the late posting! I was doing the Camp NaNoWriMo working on a rough draft of a future part of this story for the past month and this past weekend I was trying to get the last of the writing in. With that said, here is this weeks chapter, I also plan to post a bonus chapter in honor of meeting my goal for writing this past month!

**Chapter 5**

**The Recruitment of Students**

The police station in Tokyo was busy with activity despite the fact that it was the night shift.  There had been several recent incidents of criminal activity and the police had more officers on duty at a time to help combat the rising crime rate.  A tall man in a police uniform and wearing a katana at his side walked into the station as though he owned the place.  The desk sergeant immediately stopped him, not recognizing the man.  “Hey you sir, where are your credentials?”

The man looked with distain at the desk sergeant, annoyed that he had been stopped.  He reached into his jacket and pulled out a sheet of paper, handing it to the sergeant before he pulled out a packet of cigarettes and matches and lit up a cigarette in obvious relish.  “You’re new here aren’t you?”  The man asked in a harsh tone, laden with contempt.

The sergeant scanned the man’s credentials and then immediately gulped, realizing his error, “yes sir, just got this duty.  I’m sorry for the confusion but I was order to stop anyone that I didn’t recognize.”

The man exhaled a mouthful of smoke and took his papers back, “it’s quite all right, I’d rather see vigilance than gross incompetence.  Is the Chief still in?”

“Yes Lieutenant Fujita, he’s in his office I believe,” the sergeant responded smartly.

“Good,” Lieutenant Fujita breathed out a lungful of smoke as he turned on his heel before the sergeant could give him directions, walking straight into the Chief’s office without knocking.

“Who the hell…?” The Chief started, looking up from his stacks of paper in anger but he broke off when he saw who his visitor was.  “Oh Lieutenant Fujita, it’s just you.  I thought you wouldn’t be back until tomorrow.”

“I made good time,” Lieutenant Fujita replied drily through a mouthful of smoke.  “You’ll be wanting my report of the current actions at Shingetsu village then?”

“So the village has been lost?” the Chief asked, more to himself after he finished reading the report that Lieutenant Fujita handed over him.  He leaned back with a sigh closing his eyes.

“Not quite true,” Lieutenant Fujita interrupted, having finished his cigarette, he put it out.  “There is one more thing I would like us to do, there is a young officer here who just finished his training.  I want to send him to the village.”

“Why?” the Chief asked, his eyes snapping open.  “Won’t he just be killed like the others?”

“Well…” Lieutenant Fujita drawled, a vicious half grin on his face, “with him there are certain special circumstances that will allow him to slip in without drawing to much attention to himself.  If you let me explain…”

***

Kaoru felt as though she was walking on air the whole way home.  It was far past midnight by the time the party had broken up, especially after Nobuyuki and the rest of the Sekihara family joined them after the Akebeko had closed for the night.  Next to her, Yahiko was stumbling along with his eyes half closed with the help of Kenshin’s hand on the boy’s shoulder.  The moment they stepped inside the dojo’s complex, Yahiko headed with single mindlessness straight to his room, most likely through shear instinct as Kaoru would have sworn that the boy’s eyes were closed.  Kaoru giggled a little at the sound of Yahiko crashing through the house back to his room before there was a loud thump that sounded as though the boy simply collapsed on his bedding. 

“I think we kept Yahiko up a little too long,” Kaoru laughed quietly to Kenshin.  She knew that she should be exhausted, but at the moment she was too happy to pay attention to such trifles.

“It would appear to be just as you say Kaoru-dono,” Kenshin agreed with her.  “So did you enjoy yourself tonight?”

Kaoru paused for a moment to answer Kenshin’s question.  The brief silence was only broken by the hiss of the flame in the lantern that Kenshin had carried all the way from the Sekihara’s home, the only light in the dark hallway.  “Yes I did, and thank you very much for putting Tae and the other’s up to it.  It was the best party I’ve been to in a long time.”  Kaoru answered with a happy smile.

Kenshin grinned in reply, almost as though it had been _his_ party and not hers.   “This one is most glad that you enjoyed it, that I am.  Goodnight then Kaoru-dono.”

“Goodnight Kenshin,” Kaoru replied as she half turned to go to her room when a sudden thought struck her and she paused for a moment.  _Should I…?_   She wondered, struggling against her lack of courage to follow such an impulse.  _Oh damn it, Kaoru grow a spine for a change!_   She turned back to see that Kenshin was looking at her in puzzlement, trying to figure out why she was hesitating, and also blocking Kenshin’s way back to his room.

“Is there something wrong Kaoru-dono?” Kenshin asked in concern, his brows furrowing.

Kaoru’s lips pursed as she hesitated a second more before her impulse won out against her prudence and she leaned forward on her tiptoes, one hand still holding the frame of the door she leaned forward and gave Kenshin a quick kiss on the cheek.  “Thanks a lot for the party,” Kaoru told him in a breathless rush before she turned and raced to her room closing the door quickly behind her and clapping her hands over her face, blushing madly and trying to keep herself from laughing at her audacity.  _Kaoru Kamiya, holding a man’s hand and kissing him on the same day, maybe Itsuki is right.  You are such a flirt._

_***_

It was the morning after the party and everyone was eating breakfast as normal in the kitchen.  There wasn’t much of a conversation.  Yahiko as always was trying to consume as much food as possible, not noticing that Kaoru was being strangely shy around Kenshin, and Kenshin seemed overly pleased for so early in the morning.  Yahiko instead kept eating, ignoring the others and only pausing every now and then to chew the larger chunks of food before swallowing, Kaoru was trying to keep Yahiko’s bowl filled to keep up with the boy’s appetite, and Kenshin was careful to keep his fingers away from Yahiko while he was eating. 

“So Kenshin I was wondering if you would like to come with Yahiko and I to the Maekawa dojo today?” Kaoru asked piping up for the first time since they started breakfast. “Master Maekawa has been wanting to meet you for a while.”

“Sorry, can’t,” Kenshin replied with a shake of his head, “there’s so much to do around here, that there is.  There are logs to chop, bathes to warm, and laundry to do.”

Kaoru’s face fell slightly, “oh well in that case I need you to do some shopping as well, we need miso, salt, rice, and soy sauce.” Kaoru counted off the items on her fingers.  “Oh and vinegar,” she piped up happily.

Kenshin’s eyes budged slightly at the list, he had the mental image of trying to carry all that home by himself.  “On second thought it would be nice to get out for the day.”

“Now that’s more like it,” Kaoru replied happily.  “This will be fun, you’ll see.”

Yahiko glanced between the two of them with amusement, _now that’s just plain playing dirty Kaoru, threatening Kenshin with that much work just to have him tag along for a day._

Slightly put out, Kenshin followed behind Kaoru and Yahiko after breakfast as they made their way to the Maekawa dojo.  He had been avoiding going to another dojo, not wanting to be challenged or anything of the like as had been his usual experience with dojo’s in the past.  _Besides, with Kaoru-dono around nothing ever seems to work out the way I plan,_ Kenshin sighed.

Kaoru led the way across town to a dojo with the sign proudly hung depicting this as the ‘Chuetsu-ryu Maekawa Dojo’.   Kaoru led the way up to the large building that served as the dojo proper, Kenshin judged it to be at least twice the size of Kaoru’s small dojo.  As soon as they entered, Kenshin glanced around saw that many young men of various ages had arrived early and were practicing before the former lessons began.  A young man that Kenshin judged to be around his own age was supervising them.  An older man with graying hair that Kenshin assumed had to be Master Maekawa walked over to greet them as soon as they entered the dojo.

“Morning Master Maekawa,” Kaoru greeted happily as Master Maekawa joined them.

“So you must be the Kenshin that Kaoru-kun is always talking about,” Master Maekawa stated abruptly, his gaze focused on Kenshin and ignoring the others.

Kaoru looked between the two men, Master Maekawa who was doing his best to stare Kenshin down and Kenshin who let a flicker of surprise cross his face before his face lighten slightly with a slight smile.  _Those eyes are truly deep,_ Kenshin thought to himself.

Yahiko glanced around the dojo as he heard the whispers of the students around him.

“…that rurouni is supposed to be powerful…”

“Yeah I’ve seen him around.”

“Kenshin Himura, the man that sensei’s always saying he wants to fight.”

“Wonder who’d win?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Maekawa-sensei has never said anything like that to me…”

“The Sensei would win of course, he was one of the top fighters in Edo when he was younger.”

“But they say that guy…”

“Either way, it’s gonna be a match where neither can hold back.”

“The loser won’t get off without being hurt.”

Kaoru felt the beginning of panic building up as she glanced between the two men, _Master Maekawa has been wanting me to bring Kenshin along so he can challenge him to a fight?_ She thought.  _If I had known that I would have never insisted that Kenshin come along at all.  This isn’t going to end well._

“Greetings,” Kenshin bowed his head slightly towards Master Maekawa.

“Welcome,” Master Maekawa replied.

Yahiko wasn’t sure who was more confused with the polite words exchanged between Master Maekawa and Kenshin, him, or the other students.

“Thank you for coming, we look forward to learning from you,” Master Maekawa bowed his head towards Kenshin.

“This one is just here with Kaoru-dono actually,” Kenshin laughed slightly, “not to teach.”

“Is that so?” Master Maewaka asked with a slightly raised eyebrow. 

“Everything all right you two?” The young man who had been supervising the students on the side asked as he stepped forward to join them.

“Quite,” Master Maekawa answered.  “This is the Kenshin Himura that Kaoru-kun has told us so much about.  Himura-san this is one of my son’s Takumi, an assistant instructor of the dojo.”

“Pleased to meet you,” the two responded, greeting the other, with a moment of silent appraisal as they sized the other up.

 _Kaoru wasn’t kidding when she said the guy doesn’t look like much of a fighter,_ Takumi thought giving Kenshin a good look.  _But then the way he holds himself and wears that sword speaks differently…_

 “Oh are you also competing in the tournament with Kaoru-dono?” Kenshin asked in interest.

“Me? no,” Takumi laughed.  “Kouta, my older brother is the one who’s representing the school, he’s not here today.”

“Well then, please, make yourself comfortable Himura-san.” Master Maekawa offered.  “I’ll have some tea prepared for you.”

“Thank you that is most kind,” Kenshin replied as before he moved off to find somewhere to sit out of the way.

“Sensei…” Kaoru started, not sure if she wanted to give Master Maekawa a piece of her mind about the situation or not, she was still trying to figure out if she was mad at him or not for deceiving her about the reason that he wanted to meet Kenshin so badly.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.” Master Maekawa cut her off before she could continue.  “I didn’t think you would bring him if I had.  It’s a swordsman’s nature to want to fight any strong opponent, don’t take it as an insult.” 

“But sensei…” Kaoru started again but she was cut off before she could go on.

“Don’t worry Kaoru-kun,” he assured her.  “I’ve no wish to fight anymore, I can see that I’ve already lost.  I gave him my fiercest glare and his eyes just let it flow away, and then he laughed, as though telling me that he doesn’t want to fight.  There’s something in his past he doesn’t share with others.  Of course there is, how else could he have such eyes, at such a young age?”

“He’s actually 23, almost 24,” Kaoru corrected.  “he’s not that young.”

“He’s what?” Master Maekawa replied in surprise, he took another look at Kenshin who was thanking a student for bringing him a cushion to sit on.  “I could have sworn that he was 15, 17 at the most.”

 _That’s what I thought too when I first met him,_ Kaoru thought in amusement.

“And about the whole laughing thing, I pretty sure that’s just because Kaoru has him so whipped,” Yahiko laughed.

Kaoru’s face twisted in irritation, “no one asked for your opinion Yahiko.”

Kenshin sat calmly near the front of the dojo while formal lesson’s started.  He watched with interest, his attention only broken when a young woman came into the dojo to bring him some tea.  Master Maekawa joined him once they had broken up into sparing rounds, one pair of students being supervised by Takumi and another student would then be allowed to fight one on one with Kaoru, the rest of the students waited for their turn to work with the two masters.

“Hey, don’t be surprised just ‘cause an opponent comes at you from the side!”  Kaoru snapped at the boy she was sparring with as her side step with a thrust caught them off guard and allowed her a solid hit to their chest protector.

“G-got it.” The boy mumbled in reply behind the face guard that he wore.

“Don’t pull your belly back!  And first thing _watch_ your opponent’s eyes!” Kaoru snapped again as she scored another solid hit.  “You can’t tell where your enemy is going to strike if all you do is watch their sword!”  Kaoru turned to the next young man in line to spar with her.  “Right, next!” she ordered.

Kenshin was paying close attention to the fights, noting every moment.  He paid close attention to Kaoru’s footwork which never ceased to entertain him, especially with the odd shuffling motions she would do whenever she was fighting in earnest and not paying attention to her footwork.  Kaoru had told him it was a side effect from her dancing lessons when she was younger and she had never been able to completely break the habit.  Kenshin found it amusing, he wondered what other fighters in the upcoming tournament would think when they saw it.

“What do you think of our dojo?”

Kenshin glanced in surprise at Master Maewaka who had remained silent until that moment.

“It’s nice.” Kenshin answered honestly.   “You have a lot of students, it’s lively here.” The dojo was filled with over forty students, and he was glad that the Maekawa dojo was much larger than Kaoru’s.  he wasn’t sure that many students could train comfortable at the Kamiya dojo, _not unless some of them were outside._

“Usually not even a third of them show up, but on day’s Kaoru-kun is here.”  Master Maekawa shook his head in resignation.    “The famous ‘kenjutsu princess’ makes them sweat.  It’s become a sort of entertainment for the young men.  The number of students has soared since Kaoru-kun started coming here to train.  There may be ten of them who are serious about swords.  It’s embarrassing, but such is the state of the dojo that was once called the best in Edo.  More embarrassing still, that I would use the legacy of Koshijiro Kamiya as a tool to attract students.”

“You’re too hard on yourself Maekawa-dono.” Kenshin assured him.  “The Kamiya dojo which has so few students benefits from this as well.  Help and be helped. Agreed?” Kenshin asked with a smile.

“True,” he agreed.  “but still one has to wonder about the future of kenjutsu in such an age, it’s hard to believe that not that long ago challengers would come to the dojo almost every day…”

 _Yes, but is the chaos of the past worth just having a strong following in the art of kenjutsu?_   Kenshin wondered.  He knew which of the two he would choose.

***

It had been five days since Kaoru’s party when Sanosuke walked into Natsumi’s room.  She blinked her long lashes at Sanosuke in the soft light of the lanterns as she played with the fastenings of her kimono, making sure that it was set just right.  She was dressed even more elaborately than Sanosuke had seen her.  “Tomorrow is my last day here, disappointed about that?” Sanosuke asked with a quirk of his eyebrow at her.  He had no intention to ever see her again after he was paid but he figured that she didn’t feel the same, not with the amount of effort she had put in her current appearance.

“Not in the slightest,” she responded in an offhand tone, shaking a hand distractedly at him as she fixed some invisible error in her hair.  “Tonight you can do whatever you want, a _friend_ is coming over so you stay in your own room tonight, alone.” She added to clarify any confusion he might have in the situation, the emphasis on friend left no doubt as to the real relationship.

“Excuse me?” Sanosuke asked in puzzlement.

She turned to him with a haughty expression, clearly annoyed that she was having to repeat herself.  “I said you are sleeping alone tonight.  You were fun for a while but it’s time to move on, so run along back to whatever cubby you came from and stay there.  You’ll get your pay from my husband tomorrow, tonight I’m sharing better company.”

“You’re kicking me out, for some other guy?” Sanosuke asked in irritation, he was used to doing this to women, certainly not to being the one who was thrown over for someone else. 

“Yes I am, and if you throw a fit over this then you won’t get your pay from my husband, I’ll see to that.  Also if you even think about mentioning this affair to my husband I’ll simply say that you forced me and then you’ll be thrown in to jail for rape.  And who do you think they’ll believe in that situation, some street thug?  Or the wife of a respected merchant?  So be a good boy and do as you’re told.” She dismissed him with a turn of her head.

Sanosuke clenched his fists and bowed mockingly towards her, “as you insist,” he spoke in a scornful tone.  _You really think this is the end of it?_   He asked as he walked out of her room, slamming the door behind him as he stalked through the house.  _You really think you can throw over Sanosuke Sagara just like that?  Well you’re going to learn a thing or two aren’t you, you harlot._   Several schemes of how to get back at her already playing through his head.

***

It was a week after the party and Kaoru was swinging through a series of exercises with a bokken in her hands.  Doctor Gensei had allowed her limited practice which to Kaoru meant as meant training as much as she could without causing herself to double over in pain.  She figured as long as she planned rest days along with her training she would be fine.  She normally liked to practice with Yahiko whenever she could, he wasn’t at her level but it was a nice change of pace to be able to practice with someone.  But at the moment Yahiko had his shift at the Akebeko and Kenshin always refused to practice with her.  She finished up her drills with only minimal pain in her shoulder, all in all Kaoru was pleased with how well her shoulder was healing.  _At this rate it should be healed by the tournament and I won’t have to worry about it,_ Kaoru thought to herself.

“Kaoru-dono, I finished the chores you asked this one to do, is there anything else I can do?” Kenshin asked, poking his head in the back door to the dojo. 

Kaoru twisted her head from where she was stretching out on the floor.  She thought for a minute as she twisted to the other side and stretched down to touch her toe and lay her head against her knee.  “Umm nothing I can think of at the moment.”

Kenshin’s eyebrows raised and he smiled slightly at her, “well this must be a first, even you have run out of things to assign.”

Kaoru laughed as she finished her stretches and got back to her feet, “I must be having an off day, Yahiko will be sad that he wasn’t here to enjoy it.”

“So are you done for the day?” Kenshin asked as Kaoru replaced her bokken.

“I’ve done all I can by myself,” Kaoru shrugged in reply.  “Unless you actually want to spar with me,” Kaoru teased.

Kenshin pursed his lips for a moment, thinking about it, “that might not be a bad idea.”  He walked up to the racks of bokkens and grabbed two, tossing one to Kaoru.

She caught the weapon out of reflex and stared at Kenshin in surprise as he placed his sakabato on the bench before he stepped out into the middle of floor to face her.  He swung the bokken a couple of times experimentally, trying to get a feel for the weight of it. 

“Umm Kenshin, are you feeling all right?” Kaoru asked with a tip of her head.  She had never seen Kenshin willing to fight anyone, he usually tried to calm the situation.  When he did fight, he was usually resigned to circumstances.  And she had never see Kenshin willing to train with anyone.  She remembered him specifically telling Yahiko that he had no intention of ever passing along his sword style to anyone and the one time she had forced Kenshin into helping her train he had deliberately provoked her into throwing him out by being completely useless. 

“I’m fine,” Kenshin answered, a cocky little smile on his face.  “Besides, I am supposed to be helping you get the school back on its feet right?  So isn’t helping you train for the tournament what this one needs to be helping with?”

Kaoru walked suspiciously towards Kenshin, gripping her bokken, as she faced off with him. She wasn’t sure how serious he was about this so she decided to go easy at first to test him.  Kenshin waited politely for her to make the first move so she stepped forward with a simple left slash, overhead cut, to feint and slash combination.  It was nothing fancy and she knew Kenshin could probably block it in his sleep.  Kenshin blocked Kaoru’s first attack faster than she expected, she knew how fast he was, having seen him fight before, but she underestimated how much faster he would be using a lighter bokken compared to his sakabato.  Kenshin’s next block was quicker than Kaoru’s swing because of that difference and she had to spin out of the way to avoid the hit.  Kenshin’s face was slightly apolitically, realizing that he hadn’t slowed his speed down enough to compensate for the lighter weapon. 

Kaoru could tell from the look in his eye that he was about to back off but she wasn’t going to let him, this was the first time Kenshin had actually seriously let her spar with him and she wanted to see how she could do.  She finished the combo with the feint slash as fast as she could, adding a twist to disengage when Kenshin blocked the attack but the disengage failed to work as Kenshin had seen it coming and compensated for it.  Kaoru swung again and the moment their weapons hit she spun behind Kenshin and attack him but she didn’t get a chance to connect as Kenshin turned and attacked her.

Kaoru blocked an overhead slash with a shoulder block and there was a sharp stab of pain from her shoulder.  She hissed in pain and retreated, grabbing her arm and panting.

“Kaoru-dono are you all right?” Kenshin asked in concern, moving to her side.

“I’m okay,” Kaoru assured him standing up and rubbing her shoulder.   “It’s actually getting better believe it or not.”

Kenshin raised his eyebrows at her, obviously un-swayed by her comment.  “Perhaps you shouldn’t practice for awhile Kaoru-dono, you don’t want to hurt yourself further,” he pointed out logically.

“Kenshin the tournament is in a little over a week!” Kaoru shouted in exasperation.  “And in case you haven’t figured it out by now if I don’t get some students soon we are going to face the very real possibility of starvation followed by me having to sell the school and then who knows what after that!  We’re running out of time for me to just sit back and relax!”   Kaoru swung her bokken at Kenshin before he decided not to fight her anymore, forcing him to jump back.  She needed the practice and was going to do whatever it took to get it. 

“Kaoru-dono, I thought you were going to take it easy,” Kenshin wined as he continued to dodge Kaoru’s attacks on him without even raising his bokken.

“Not until I’ve got more than three plaques on that wall,” Kaoru answered stepping forward in a combination attack before dodging Kenshin’s intended block, and spinning to the side to strike, but Kenshin merely blocked without turning to face her.

“If you insist then Kaoru-dono, this one will continue to fight with you,” Kenshin answered, with a sad look on his face right before he used the wall to jump up and over Kaoru’s head and try to strike her from behind.

Kaoru had seen Kenshin play a move like this before, so she dropped to the ground and Kenshin’s attack sailed harmlessly over her head, she meanwhile tried a sidekick at Kenshin’s thigh, deliberately aiming for high above the knee, not intending to hurt him seriously. 

Kenshin saw her attack and having just landed couldn’t do much more than shuffled his leg behind him in an ungraceful move that left him off balance.  Kaoru reacted by thrusting her bokken for his chest.  Kenshin, realizing that he couldn’t block in such an awkward position, he merely continued his backward motion by arching back to perform a back handspring with only one hand.  Kaoru only paused for a moment at yet another example of Kenshin’s agility before she sprung forward in her attack.

“What were you in a previous life, an acrobat?” she asked with a hint of sarcasm as their weapons collided and Kenshin blocked her slash.

“Burglar,” Kenshin laughed back.  “Come on Kaoru-dono don’t you have anything that I haven’t seen before?” he taunted gently as he spun to the side and Kaoru pivoted on the ball of her foot to keep Kenshin from getting behind her again.

Kaoru’s lips pursed at the challenge, _you want something new then?_   She thought mischievously, _how ‘bout this?_   This time when Kenshin struck towards her with a side slash, Kaoru stepped in a 45° degree angle towards Kenshin and turned her body to the side to face Kenshin’s incoming blade.  She caught his bokken before it hit her with the backs of her fists, still holding her bokken.  She then twisted, crossing his blade with the hilt of her weapon to disarm him. 

 _That move!_   Kenshin flashed back to the night in the rain when he had first met her father.  That had been how very similar to the way Kaoru’s father, Koshijiro, had disarmed and almost killed Kenshin.  Kenshin however had a defense when his bokken was twisted out of his grasp.  He simply tacked Kaoru to the ground, taking her by surprise.  After Kaoru hit the ground she tried to struggle against Kenshin to reach a bokken, both weapons having gone rolling across the floor.  There were a few times that Kaoru almost managed to break free of Kenshin’s grasp but eventually he managed to pin her down to the ground firmly and they both knew the fight was over.

“Are you going to give up now?” Kenshin asked in amusement when he realized that Kaoru wasn’t in the position to free herself.

Kaoru sighed and gave Kenshin a long look, “no, but I concede that for the moment you have the upper hand,” she replied loftily.  “So are you going to let me up now?”

Kenshin laughed and started to shift his weight to let Kaoru up.  Kaoru was about to say more but was cut off when a bucket of water got tossed on her and Kenshin, drenching both of them.  Sputtering they separated from each other and got to their knees to face an irritated looking Yahiko, who was standing over them with a glare, one hand on his hip and the other holding the bucket by his side.

“Yahiko what are you doing?” Kaoru asked in surprise, pushing her wet bangs out of her face.

“What was I doing?”  Yahiko demanded incredulously.  “What do you two think you’re doing?”

“I was helping Kaoru-dono train for the tournament, that I was,” Kenshin replied in confusion.

Yahiko’s eyebrow shot up, “that’s not the kind of training that she needs for the tournament Kenshin,” he snapped in reply.  He shook his finger in their faces as he delivered his lecture.  “I don’t even want to know how you two were considering this ‘training’.  The tournament is coming up fast and Kaoru needs to be sharp and focused for it so I’m reining back on this ‘thing’ between you two.  Kenshin,” Yahiko focused a withering glare on Kenshin, “don’t you know that you shouldn’t even be trying to take advantage of a girl of Kaoru’s status?  So keep it in your hakama until after the formalities.  And Kaoru,” Yahiko directed his gaze to the other side where Kaoru was watching with an open mouth.  “Stop tempting Kenshin with your poor attempt at bedroom eyes.  You’re from a higher status so start acting like an honorable samurai woman instead of a street side whore, do I make myself clear?” Yahiko finished by giving them both a firm look.

Kaoru and Kenshin were both equally shocked by Yahiko’s speech, “Kenshin,” Kaoru whisper quietly.  “You remember that vow you made not to kill?”

“What about it?” Kenshin answered.

“Mind putting it on hold for five minutes?”

Kenshin thought about it for half a beat, “of course, but it’ll only take one.”  With that Kaoru and Kenshin leaped after Yahiko who quickly threw the bucket at them in a desperate attempt to slow them down as he made a run for it.

“Someone help me!” he yelled as he ran out the gate and down the street.  “These crazy people are trying to kill me!”

***

Kenshin saw a shadow creep slowly around the house from where he was busy cleaning dust from the corners of the house with the doors open to the evening breeze. “You really think it’s safe to come back so soon Yahiko?” he asked in a chilling voice. 

Yahiko stopped mid step with a groan, “man you guys can’t take a joke at all can you?” he wined. 

“Maybe you have a point, that you do,” Kenshin replied, stopping his work for a moment to think about it.  “Having water thrown at this one for nothing at all and then being lectured by an 11-year old boy.  You’re right, the whole thing is obviously a joke.”

Yahiko glared at Kenshin as he went back to work, _everyone’s a critic._   “Look it was a joke because I knew that despite how things looked it wasn’t how things looked, you know what I mean?  I know your too much of a stickler for proper decorum to do anything until after you and Kaoru get around to marrying in ten years or so and Kaoru’s such a stick in the mud she’d probably wouldn’t do anything even then.”

 _Amazing how such a decent thing can sound like an insult,_ Kenshin thought sarcastically.    “So then why did you throw water at us then?” Kenshin demanded.

“Because it pissed Kaoru off,” Yahiko shrugged as though it was the obvious conclusion.  “And you see everything that Kaoru makes me do, it’s my way of rebellion that Kaoru can’t fault me for.  It’s ingenious,” Yahiko bragged.

 _It’s something,_ Kenshin rolled his eyes.

“But whenever you do want a private word with Kaoru then just give me the signal and I’ll butt out, promise,” Yahiko assured him.

“Yahiko.”

“Yeah?”

“Butt out,” Kenshin responded and Yahiko rolled his eyes.

“I was being serious,” he protested.

“So was I.”

***

A letter arrived at the merchant Mayeda’s home and was immediately delivered to him along with the other letters of business.  The merchant looked at it curiously as he was trying to catch up on the affairs of his trade since he had been away.  Unlike the other’s this was simple address to ‘Mayeda’ so with a slight shrug he opened the letter his curiosity as to it’s contents quickly turned to rage as he read the contents of the letter again and again, not believing it the first time.  In frustration he picked up a small hand bell and rang it loudly until one of his servants entered the room. 

“Yes sir?” the servant asked.

“Bring my wife here this instance,” he demanded in barely concealed rage, clenching the hated letter in his hand.  “There is a ‘situation’ that I need to discuss with her.”

***

 “So your master is competing in the tournament?” one of the boys from the crowd asked Yahiko.

Yahiko nodded in reply, he had spread the word through some of his friends and had managed to get over ten boys of various ages to show up to his little meeting in the alley behind the Akebeko while he was having his break.  “That’s right, she’s competing at the Emperors’ Tournament next week.” Yahiko confirmed, “So for everyone who’s interesting in kenjutsu lessons show up there, and of course if you know anyone else then bring them along too.”

“But isn’t your master supposed to be a girl?”  One of the boy’s asked.

Yahiko mentally sighed, he knew that was going to come up at some point.  “Yeah she’s a girl, which makes the fact that she’s about to best the greatest fighters in Japan just that much more impressive.  So grab your friends and just be there, I promise you that it won’t be a waste of your time.”

“Is she really that good?” one of the boys spoke up.

“Let me put it this way,” Yahiko started.  “It’s not just that she can hold her own, it’s also about the kind of person she is, cause believe me you don’t want to end up with a total ass as an instructor.”  Yahiko started telling the others about some of what Kaoru had done for others, starting first with how she had helped him escape from the yukaza, helping Megumi escape from Kanryu (and being careful to avoid mentioning that Megumi had really been making opium for Kanryu, simply saying that Megumi had been held hostage by Kanryu).  He even mentioned how she helped former students even when their actions had dishonored both her, her school, and everything she had taught them.

By the time he finished there was silence for a moment before a lone hand rose into the air and the question that Yahiko had been expecting earlier was finally asked.  “But isn’t there some Rurouni staying there that’s supposed to be some great fighter?  You know the one who stopped those police swordsmen from executing that group in the streets?”

Yahiko sighed falsely, shaking his head in regret.  “Yeah, that’s Kenshin.  And the stories about him are true and you would think that he would be a better master and all but there are a few problems about asking him for lessons.  The first is that he absolute refuses to teach anyone.  He won’t even teach me one thing and he’s like an older brother to me!  And two, when you see the way that Kaoru has him so completely whipped you do have to wonder at times if he really is as great as they say.  If you take my advice, don’t even waste your time asking him.”  There was whispering around the boys and Yahiko pursed his lips as he realized that he was slowly losing his audience.  “Hey everyone, there’s no reason to make a decision right away, just show up to the tournament and see Kaoru first hand, then you can decide for yourself who you want to teach you.”


	7. The Start of the Tournament

**Chapter 6**

**The Start of the Tournament**

Sayuri peeked in on her husband, Yuudai Ashikaga, in the room that he used for business while at home.  He was hard at work reading through a stack of reports tossed haphazardly over every available surface.  She knew that no matter how bad the mess looked, by the time he was done everything would be tidied and put back into its proper place. 

“Still working?  It’s almost midnight you know,” she commented as she slid the door open and went into the room, joining him by the desk and wrapping her arms around him.  “Won’t you come to bed now?”

“In a minute,” Yuudai muttered, half to himself as he continued looking through the stacks of papers.

“You can’t work forever you know,” she cautioned him.  “It’s not good for you.”

“Whatever you say dear,” he muttered in reply. Still not fully listening to her.

“Yuudai,” Sayuri answered, shaking his shoulder a bit to make him look at her, “are you listening to me?”

Yuudai glanced her direction, momentarily putting the reports down.  “I’m sorry Sayuri, you want me to come to bed don’t you?”

“Yes I do, but if there is something that you have to do then you can finish.  But you need to rest a bit,” she warned him.  “Do something to relax for awhile.  What about the tournament coming up?  The Kumagai and Yoshinaga’s are both going and you used to enjoy events like this.  We could go together.” She urged gently, worried about her husband’s health, the wrinkles of concern lined his face and they were deepening with each passing year.

“The one in a couple of days?” he asked, his eyebrows furrowing. 

“Yes that’s the one, will you come to it with me and explain things to me?”  She asked sweetly, mentally crossing her fingers that her husband would take a couple days off.  She knew how much he needed the rest even if he didn’t.

He smiled tiredly, “all right I’ll go with you, now go to bed, I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

Sayuri kissed him gently before leaving and Yuudai turned back to his reports with a sigh, the internal conflicts that the government didn’t dare publicize were getting worse.  _Shisho is getting more powerful than we ever thought he could,_ Yuudai sighed, _and now he has yet another village under his control and there’s no hope of us reclaiming it without action from the army.  And with Korea already believing that the government is unstable and not wanting us to open up relations with them, an action like this would only strengthen that belief._

Yuudai set the report down and started straightening and organizing the papers, realizing that he would come to no solution at the moment.  _Why did he and Hoji, the lord of the underground have to band together?  That is how he’s gain so much power in such a short period of time.  We need someone who can stand against him and still keep things quiet.  Saito can do but that’s just one of him against 12 of them plus their army of thugs, it’ll never work.  We need help, and we need it badly…_

_***_

 “Forty three, forty four,” Yahiko counted as Kaoru did pushups on the dojo floor.  He had been doing them with her until he finally gave up at thirty, his limit, and couldn’t do another one.  Now he was sitting on his knees and keeping count for Kaoru. 

Sanosuke walked into the dojo with the tip of his head as Yahiko kept counting and he sat on the bench on the side to observe the spectacle. 

“Been awhile Sanosuke hasn’t it?” Yahiko asked.  “You find someone else to mooch food off of?”

“Been busy kid, it happens,” Sanosuke shrugged as Yahiko informed Kaoru when she hit fifty before turning his attention back to Sanosuke, still mentally counting for Kaoru.  “You know Missy, guys prefer their girls to be at least a little soft, keep that up and even Kenshin won’t want you.”  Sanosuke warned her.

Kaoru paused at the top of a pushup to look up and glared defiantly at Sanosuke.  She deliberately put her left hand behind her back, did five more pushups before switching hands and repeating.  Then she stopped and sat up.  “Got something else clever to say?” Kaoru asked with an arch of her eyebrows.

Sanosuke’s eyes narrowed at her, “Yeah, where is Kenshin during all of this?”

“Laundry,” Yahiko announced promptly.

Sanosuke shook his head, _there is something really wrong about the gender roles in this place._   “Say Missy you ready for the tournament in a couple of days?” Sanosuke asked in a chipper voice.

“Today’s the last day I train, after this I rest till the tournament,” Kaoru answered promptly.

“And the shoulder?”

“Doesn’t bother me at all anymore,” Kaoru responded, _unless someone hits me there_.

Sanosuke rubbed his hands together, “great, this means the other gamblers won’t know what hit them when you get on the floor.”

“Nice to know you’re thinking of others right now,” Yahiko responded drawly.

“Be nice to me you two, I’ve got the dibs on everyone who’s fighting in the tournament so if you want some inside information calm down on the snippy remarks.”  Sanosuke retorted.

“How did you find that out?” Kaoru asked in curiosity.

“I know the right people, you interested?”

Kaoru took a deep breath and nodded her head.  “All right let’s get the low down.”

Sanosuke began lining out everyone in the tournament, what province they were from, what their sword style was, where they trained, etc.  “And then the big news is that Enshiro Mariya the master of the Kisarazu Mujushin dojo is also competing.”

“Enshiro Mariya?” Kaoru gasped in shock.  “I didn’t realize that he was going to be in the tournament.”

“Isn’t he supposed to be some big shot master?” Yahiko asked for clarification.

“That’s putting it lightly,” Kaoru replied.  “He trained, at least at some point, most of the great fighters of the revolution.  He is considered the greatest master in all of Japan.”

“Yeah but he’s also in his sixties, he’s old and the word on the street is that this is going to be his last big hooruh before he retires.  His grandson or something is going to be taking up his grandfather’s legacy or something like that,” Sanosuke drawled bored.  “He can’t be as fast or as strong as he was when he was younger, so just wag that flabby ass of yours and that should stun him enough for you to go in for the kill,” Sanosuke advised her.

“I don’t have a flabby behind!” Kaoru screamed in frustration while Yahiko was overcome with a violent coughing episode and a shadow fell across the doorway.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Kaoru demanded, cutting Sanosuke off midsentence as he started to retort. 

“I am here to inform you that this is the last time to take the offer as it stands Kaoru,” Istuki drawled in his nasally tone.  “If you insist on going through with this foolish tournament and disgrace this school even further than the price will drop in half.”

“You jerk, if you don’t crawl back to whatever cesspool you came from then I’m going to kick you out on your rear myself,” Yahiko challenged, leaping to his feet, shinai in hand.

“You know this guy?” Sanosuke jerked his thumb at Itsuki.

“Family,” Koru responded with a roll of her eyes, “there’s one in every family, and a whole branch in mine.”

“That’s all I came to say, it would be in your best interest to sell,” Itsuki continued, ignoring the others.

“Itsuki I swear!” Kaoru yelled leaping to her feet and Itsuki fled out the door and down the street.  “Nice to know he’s trained.”  She sat back down and turned to Sanosuke.  “So you were saying…?”

“He come by often?” Sanosuke responded with a raised eyebrow. 

“Sometimes,” Kaoru shrugged.

“The last time he showed up, he drunk the tea I spit in,” Yahiko added helpfully.

 “You spit in his tea?” Kaoru asked Yahiko.

“Yep,” Yahiko responded proudly.  “Twice.”

Kaoru laughed, “you know Yahiko there are moments when I’m _almost_ proud of you, this is one of those moments.”

***

The gentle wind blew through the trees and the bell in the temple rang softly as a solitary figure kneeled before the temple, head bowed in pray offering up their petition to the gods.  As the sun rose over the trees the figure rose and Sanosuke ran a hand through his hair as he addressed the temple in general and the bowl set out for offerings.  “Sorry, but I’m short of cash again, I’ll pay up when I can, for now this goes on my tab,” he promised before he turned to leave.  _Just as long as Kaoru kicks ass, I’ll make my money back._   He thought with a grin. 

He was already satisfied with himself after he had done a little research on Natsumi Mayeda and found that she had not one, but three other lovers on the side.  He had simple informed them of each other and then let things sort themselves out from there.  He had no idea that one of the men had been so foolish to send her a letter but forgot to put her full name on it and it ended up in her husband’s hands instead. He had heard since then that the merchant had divorced his wife and sent her back to her family in shame.  Sanosuke felt not the slightest remorse for what he had done, he figured at some point her husband would learn of his wife’s infidelities.  Sanosuke was just trying to help the man.   _Yep, I’m a scoundrel and I love it._

_***_

The morning of the tournament had arrived and Yahiko was determined to see Kaoru fight, his body however, had other ideas.  Yahiko groaned as his whole body ached and he was shriving with cold despite the fact that it was summer time and he knew that even in the morning he shouldn’t be this cold.  _I’m not sick, it’s just a matter of mind over body, I’ve got to get up, I’ve got to support Kaoru on this one and make sure she doesn’t screw up,_ Yahiko thought to himself determinedly.  But no matter how much he willed it he couldn’t make himself sit up.  _But I can take a moment to rest before getting up._

“Yahiko it’s time to get up, we’ll be late if you don’t eat breakfast soon,” Kenshin informed him, knocking on the door.

“Coming,” Yahiko called out in a broken voice trying once again to make his body obey his mental commands.

Kenshin caught the cracking of the boy’s voice and gently slid the door back a bit to look inside. “Yahiko are you feeling all right?” he asked.

“I’m fine,” Yahiko moaned in reply trying to move and failing miserably, only managing to get half out of bed and started crawling on the floor to retrieve his clothes.

Kenshin didn’t take that for an answer, he crouched on the floor next to Yahiko and felt his forehead and cheeks, “you’re burning up Yahiko,” Kenshin’s remonstrated.  “Back in bed this instance, you’re not going.”

“But Kenshin,” Yahiko pleaded.

“No arguments,” Kenshin told him firmly, pushing the boy back onto the bed and covering him up.  “You want another blanket?” Kenshin asked as Yahiko started shriving again.  Yahiko nodded and Kenshin returned with a thick blanket for the winter and covered the boy with it.  “This one will bring you something, your orders are to rest today,” Kenshin informed him in a tone that brooked no argument.  “We’ll have someone come by to check on you.”

 _Damn,_ Yahiko moaned as Kenshin left to inform Kaoru about Yahiko’s condition and to get some broth for the boy.  _I really wanted to see Kaoru fight today._

_***_

The tournament was being held in one of the grand area areas where other fights, such as the sumo fights, were held.  The fights would be starting soon and the area was already packed with the eager spectators.  Kaoru was standing near the edge of the area for the contestants, referrers, and other tournament officials.  Kenshin was on the other side of the small wall separating the tournament floor from the specters who were trying to find seats or places to stand before the fights began. 

Kaoru was nervously tapping her bokken against her leg, glancing around at everything with wide eyes, mentally counting her breaths in a desperate attempt to calm her growing anxiety.  She felt as though she would be sick at any moment as she watched the way the other contestants eyed her.

“Hey gorgeous, you going to entertain us after the fights are over?” one of the other contestants with a thick black beard, cropped close, leered at her.

Kaoru gasped as he walked past and almost bolted but Kenshin caught her arm and forced her to look at him. 

“Easy Kaoru-dono, this will get started soon and you’ll feel better after the first rounds are done,” Kenshin told her gently.

“I can’t do this, this was a big mistake,” Kaoru blurted out as the first set of fighters were called into the ring and their fight began.  “What was I thinking signing up for this in the first place?  I should have just stayed home.   I think I’m coming down with what Yahiko has.”  She stuttered, hoping that she was sick, it was an excuse to get out of there.

“Kaoru-dono,” Kenshin began speaking to her in a soft and calm tone, trying to make her listen to him but he wasn’t sure that she heard a word of what he said.  Kenshin was growing more desperate, he had seen the order of the fights and knew that Kaoru was in the second round, she needed to pull it together soon.

“Hey Missy how you feeling this morning?” Sanosuke asked as he muscled his way through the crowd to join them.

“How am I feeling?  How do you think I’m feeling?” Kaoru answered in a high pitch tone, her eyes so wide Kenshin was half-afraid they might fall out.

“Oh this isn’t good,” Sanosuke ran his hand through his hair, “I already laid my money down on your fight, I can’t take it back now.  Such a shame I was getting ten to one odds.”

“How can you be thinking of only yourself right now?” Kaoru practically screamed at him before Kenshin’s hush calmed her pitch slightly, her retort attracted the attention of the people around them.  “I’m about to make a complete fool of myself, lose everything, and you’re only thinking about how this affects your gambling!?”

Sanosuke gave her a good look before he pushed Kenshin out of the way, grabbed Kaoru by the shoulders, and shook her hard, “stop acting like a girl and pull yourself together,” he ordered.

Instead of having the desired effect of making Kaoru angry, Kaoru’s eyes filled with tears and she looked as though she was about to cry.  Kenshin stomped on Sanosuke’s foot so hard that Sanosuke howled and let go of Kaoru (by this point they had drawn the attention of much of the crowd around them who was yelling insults as this distraction from the tournament) and started jumping around on one foot.  “Stop trying to help!” Kenshin hissed at him before turning his attention back to Kaoru.

“Kaoru-kun, it’s your turn next isn’t it?” A young man that Kenshin had been introduced to earlier as Kouta, Master Maewaka’s oldest son and the one who was fighting in the tournament, asked.

“Yes that’s right,” Kenshin answered since Kaoru seemed beyond speaking at the moment, having buried her head against the wall one hand gripping Kenshin’s arm in a death grip.

“You ought to have fun fighting Master Iseri then, it’ll be interesting if nothing else,” Kouta answered smoothly, watching Kaoru from the corner of his eye, knowing full well the effect that this would have on her.

Kaoru slowly turned her face around, her face now completely blank, “Master Iseri you say?”

“Yeah didn’t you see the board when you came in?” Kouta answered keeping his eye on the fight that had just concluded and the winner was being announced and presented before they prepared for the next set of fighters to take the arena.

“Really?” Kaoru answered in an enthusiasm that worried Kenshin.  She straightened up with a pleasant smile on her face.  “And it’s best two out of three right?”

“That’s right Kaoru-dono,” Kenshin answered, carefully appraising her face to try and read her mood.

“Well,” Kaoru tipped her head to one side, causing her ponytail to flip around.  “This tournament sounds like a lot of fun, glad Yahiko talked me into this.  See you guys in a bit,” Kaoru answered as her name was called and she stepped forward to take her place in the ring.

“Who’s Master Iseri?” Sanosuke asked quickly.

“Oh just one of the other dojo master’s in town,” Kouta answered in a bored tone.  “He’s made his views of the place of women, especially those of the samurai class, very clear to Kaoru.  Namely that they should be pregnant and barefoot in the kitchen.  I’m paraphrasing but you get the jest.”

“Shit, I didn’t put near enough money on this fight, I hope I can find that guy taking bets in time,” Sanosuke swore as he moved to fight his way back through the crowd.

“Sano,” Kenshin caught his sleeve and Sanosuke turned to him in confusion.  Kenshin passed a few coins into his friend’s hand, “10 sen on Kaoru,” he muttered.  Sanosuke smiled and took the money at a run, hoping to get the bets placed before the betting ended.

***

Yuudai and Sayari Ashikaga made their way through the pleasant swirls of conversation from the elite who had turned out to watch the tournament as they made their way to the stands of boxes set aside for the more well to do crowd.  They seated themselves and Yuudai was surprised to see that the Lord of the Meiji Imperial Army, Aritamo Yamagata, was also there to observe the tournament. 

“Yamagata-san, I wasn’t expecting to see you here,” Yuudai greeted pleasantly.

“And you Ashikaga-san, I was expecting that you would be busy seeing to that ‘delicate’ situation,” Yamagata allude.  Sayari turned her head and tried to stay invisible as was proper while the men discussed business.  “Are you here because of our mutual friend and you wish to enlist his aid in this matter?  If so, I warn you that I have already approached him with an offer and he refused, he said that he just wanted to be left in peace.”

“Friend?” Yuudai asked with raised eyebrows, “I wasn’t aware that any friend of ours would be here, this was a last minute decision to forget the affairs of state for a day.  Just whom are you referring to though?”  If there was anyone that Yamato thought would be useful for the current situation Yuudai was more than willing to know who they were.

“Forgive me, I just assumed since you came that you also found out that Himura-sama has been living here in Tokyo for the past 6 months and that he would be here at the tournament.”  Yamagata answered. 

“Himura-sama?” Yuudai straightening up in his seat by reflex.  “He’s here, you’re sure of this?”  Yuudai had known Kenshin Himura, more popularly known as Hitokiri Battosai, one of the great assassins of the revolution who became a free swordsman during the last part of the revolution while another took on the role of the hitokiri of the shadows.  He also known that after Takoyoshi Kido, or Katsura Kogoro as he was known during the revolution, had given Kenshin his leave after the battle of Tobi Fushimia and so Kenshin wasn’t there for the grand ending to the revolution, when the revolutionary army was handed Edo Castle and the surrender of the Shogun without a fight.  All attempts to date to locate him had failed, he had simply vanished into the night.

“I found him several months ago by following a shaky lead, turns out it was the right one.  He’s living with the owner and master of a dojo here in town and my informants tell me that they are competing in the tournament today.”  Yamagata informed him in a hush tone that was only heard by them, any hopes of their being overheard were drowned out as the first match began and the crack of bokkens and the shouts of the crowd drowning out all other noise.

“I didn’t know that a woman was competing in the tournament,” Sayari pointed out softly, half to herself but her words paused the men in their conversation, her keen eyes having spotted Kaoru across the way with the bokken in one hand as she was being comforted by Kenshin and Sanosuke joined them.

“What are you talking about?” Yuudai asked his wife, not having seen Kaoru across the crowd.

“Over there,” she pointed out, “next to the man with red hair, that girl with the bokken.  The man must be her lover or something from the way she’s holding on to him,” Sayari observed with the keen eyes of a woman, observing the way that Kenshin looked at Kaoru.

“That would be Kaoru Kamiya the one I was telling you about,” Yamagata confirmed, spotting Kenshin across the crowd.

“I can’t believe it,” Yuudai breathed, his eyes seeing Kenshin and he watched the entire confrontation between Kenshin, Kaoru, Sanosuke, and Kouta.  He didn’t pay any attention to the two men fighting on the floor, or when his wife asked him softly to explain the rules of the tournament to her.  Yamagata stepped in and explained the point system and the intricacies of the style of the two fighters but Yuudai was too busy assessing Kenshin. 

 _After all this time he’s just standing a few dozen yards from me so peacefully,_ Yuudai thought in shock.  _And he looks so…different._   There was really no other word for it.  When Yuudai had met him during the revolution, after he had stopped being a hitokiri and had emerged as a free swordsmen, he was always serious, never smiled or seeming to take joy in anything, intensely passionate about building a better future for the people of Japan, one where people wouldn’t be living in fear.  But most of all he was always on the edge, a rage bubbling just below the surface.  Yuudai had never known just what it was that made him so angry, so enraged with the world, and he never would.  But that wasn’t the Kenshin he saw now, he was calm, relaxed, watching the tournament with anticipation, and most of all, he was _smiling_ as the woman walked away from him with a slight bounce in her step.

 _The man he was five years ago we could use,_ Yuudai thought to himself as he saw Kenshin’s eyes glance their way and then narrow slightly as he spotted Yuudai and Yamagata.  Yuudai nodded slightly in his direction and Kenshin gave a curt nod back before his eyes flicked back to the tournament floor as Kaoru took her place across from Master Iseri.  _But a lot of time has passed by since then,_ Yuudai mused.  _Will he still be useful?_

“Yamagata-san,” Yuudai whispered, “you say your informants told you Himura-sama would be here, do you mean that you have been keeping an eye on him since you found him?”

“A little, the surveillance has more been monitoring any major moves or events he has been involved in, not every single little stroll he might take.”  Yamagata answered.

“Tell me everything,” Yuudai urged as Kaoru’s fight began.

***

Kenshin watched Kaoru take her place on the tournament ring before he felt a familiar itching feeling between his shoulder blades like he always did when someone was watching him.  Following that instinct, he glanced up to one of the boxes set aside for the more well-to-do crowd and saw not one but two familiar faces, Yamagata and Ashikaga.  His eyes narrowed slightly at that and Ashikaga gave him a quick nod to acknowledged that he had seen Kenshin and Kenshin nodded in reply before he turned his attention back to the tournament, trying to put the whole affair out of his mind.  _He was just surprised to see you after all these years, it’s nothing to worry about,_ Kenshin told himself firmly but try though he might he couldn’t shake the feeling that there was more to Ashikaga’s stare than surprise of seeing him for the first time in five years. 

Because of his hyper-vigilance that Yamagata and Ashikaga’s appearance had caused, Kenshin noticed a slight disturbance in different parts of the crowds when Kaoru walked into the ring.  He glanced around and saw the shifts he had noticed in the crowd was from group of young boys ranging in age from fourteen to nine leaning in to get a better look at the fight.  Some by themselves, and others were in small groups of no more than three.  All in all, Kenshin counted twenty boys in the crowd that were watching Kaoru closely as the referee stepped between her and Master Iseri, making sure that both were ready to fight and preparing to give the signal.  Two of the boys who seemed interested in Kaoru were standing close enough to Kenshin that he overheard bits of their conversation and Kenshin leaned in closer to hear.

“…got to be the master Yahiko was talking about, he said she was good,” the first was telling the other.

“This friend of yours should probably get his head checked, that girl doesn’t look like she could stand up to my grandpa let alone some dojo master, what could she possibly do?”  the second asked incredulously.

“I dunno know, but Yahiko wouldn’t lie,” the first protested with a shrug right as the referee gave the signal to began and quickly leaped back as Kaoru wasted no time and charged Master Iseri.

Kenshin kept one eye on Kaoru’s fight and the other on the two boys near him, as several sharp cracks of wood on wood filled the air before the softer thud of a bokken hitting flesh was heard and the referee called a point.  _So these must be some of the boys Yahiko has been trying to recruit to the school,_ Kenshin thought in amusement.  _Somehow, I think that it won’t take long for them to realize that Kaoru-dono can take care of herself, especially when she’s facing someone who’s insulted her._

“Dang did you see that, three strikes and she lays the guy out on his back,” the second squealed in amusement.  “That Yahiko friend of yours does know what he’s talking about doesn’t he?”

“Holy crap did you see that?” the first asked as the crack of bokken’s filled the air again.  “How did she do that without pulling something?”

 _Easily,_ Kenshin thought as he watched Kaoru disarmed Master Iseri, sending his weapon skidding across the floor.  Kaoru then immediately swung at him, he caught her blade between his hands and Kaoru reacted in a high sidekick, aiming for Master Iseri’s chest (which was at the height of Kaoru’s head), Kenshin figured the boy’s were impressed by that display of Kaoru’s flexibility.  Master Iseri ducked under the kick after shoving Kaoru’s weapon around and Kaoru turned her failed sidekick into a spin.  She did a strange hop skip like motion backwards as Master Iseri charged her, hoping to take her by surprise and knock her off balance.

Kaoru wasn’t going to be taken so easily, she half span around Master Iseri, hitting him in the side with her bokken and earning her second point, winning the round.  The whole fight had taken less than two minutes and Kenshin could see the subtle change in the crowd.  He could tell that on the whole, no one was surprised that the fight was over so quickly, they were just surprised at the outcome.  Even the referee took a second to call the point and end the fight, declaring Kaoru the winner.

“So how’s the fight going?” Sanosuke asked, having just fought his way back through the crowds to rejoin Kenshin.

“You missed it, Kaoru-dono must not have liked that master at all,” Kenshin responded happily.

“What the hell?” Sanosuke swore, “I just managed to place a last minute bet but missed the fight?  Oh well, guess I better go get my winnings then,” he grinned and gave Kenshin a friendly backhand across his arm before turning back to fight his way through the crowd.

Kaoru stepped down from the ring as they readied things for the next fight and she gave Kenshin a happy smile before she went to stand next to Kouta who was waiting patiently for his turn.  _Well that’s one round down, four more to go,_ Kenshin thought with a sigh glancing at the chart with the rounds of the match and watched as they moved Kaoru’s name up to the next set.

***

“Finally, lunch,” Kouta sighed in relief as the tournament had been put on hold for an hour to give the contestants and the crowd time to grab food, and also for the organizers to arrange things for the second round to begin.  “That first round took forever, but at least things should move a little faster from here on out.”

His father and wife provided him with a small pack lunch in a small corner of the arena area where they had set up.  Kenshin handed Kaoru her lunch and she happily started eating, Sanosuke was still off somewhere collecting his winnings from the tournament.

“You should just be glad that you made it to the next round Kouta-kun,” Kaoru teased.  “I thought for sure he had you there a couple of times.”

“I’m pretty sure he wasn’t human, what did his mother dally around with a bear or something?” Kouta speculated.  His opponent certainly seemed to be barely human, over seven feet tall and an easy hundred pounds on Kouta (who was no featherweight).  Kouta had survived the round simply by being slightly faster on his feet than his opponent though he was now sporting a nasty cut lip from the fight.

“Well congratulations to you both for making it through the first round,” Kouta’s wife, Shinju, intoned in her soft voice.

“Yeah by the way Kaoru-kun, you owe me one for keeping you from freaking out before your fight,” Kouta shyly said.

“You should be the one thanking me after that rabid dog incident,” Kaoru shot back angrily.

Kouta’s head quirked to one side, “what rabid dog incident?” he asked.

Kaoru’s face went blank as she thought about it, “never mind, that wasn’t you there.  Sorry, forget that I said anything,” she laughed hesitantly before taking another bite of her rice ball.

“I wonder sometimes about the things you used to do Kaoru-kun,” Kouta commented mildly after a moment.

 _You should probably worry more about the things I’m in to now,_ Kaoru thought in amusement.  _I mean, how many people take as many criminals as I have under their roof without being criminals themselves?_

“Well now that you two are done being children I hope that you both took a good look at the fighter you’ll be facing next,” Master Maekawa broke in.

“Yes of course Father,” Kouta responded obediently and Kaoru’s face went blank, her next opponent was the man who had won the first round and she hadn’t seen a thing of the fight.

“He’s quick and seems to prefer thrusts.  Watch out for his feints,” Kenshin whispered in Kaoru’s ear.

“Thanks Kenshin,” Kaoru whispered back, grateful that Kenshin at least had been paying attention. 

“Hope you guys saved some for me,” Sanosuke greeted as he flopped down between Kenshin and Master Maekawa, immediately reaching for the last of the rice balls Kenshin had brought.  Kenshin slapped his hand away and offered the last one to Kaoru who took it with a smug look at Sanosuke.

“Don’t you have anyone else to mooch food off of?” she asked loftily.

“Here Sagara-san, I brought plenty with us,” Shinju offered some of the bounty she had prepared.

“Why thank you miss,” Sanosuke thanked as he grabbed up as much food as he could hold.

“Don’t do that Shinju, we did that and now I can’t get rid of him,” Kaoru warned.  “He’s worse than a mongrel dog when it comes to food.”

“Hey this mongrel dog was thinking of treating you to dinner tonight with my winnings, assuming you win the next round.”  Sanosuke protested defensively through a mouth full of food.

“Before or after you pay the Sekihara’s what you owe them for always skipping out on your meals?” Kaoru shot back.

“Oh yeah,” Sanosuke mused, “hey Missy, do you remember how much I owe?  I just want to make sure I bet enough to cover it plus a little extra you know.”

Kaoru started fuming around the ears and the Maekawa’s watched in amazement, “this is a lot of hostility over a peaceful lunch,” Kouta observed.

“It’s normal,” Kenshin shrugged, completely unconcerned with the argument.

“Oh speaking of winnings,” Sanosuke suddenly broke in, turning to Kenshin.  “I almost forget to give this to you before.”  He handed Kenshin the shiny new yen he had won in his previous bet on Kaoru.  He knew how much trouble Kenshin would be in if Kaoru knew that he had gambled, but since he had given the last rice ball to Kaoru instead of letting him have it, he considered it fair. 

Kenshin instantly stiffened, wishing that Sanosuke had remembered this at a time that wasn’t when Kaoru was around, knowing full well how she felt about gambling.  Kaoru glanced between the two of them in quickly in alarm.  “You were gambling Kenshin?” she asked.

Kenshin flinched back, knowing what was coming and sincerely hating his friend at the moment, he suspected it was Sanosuke’s way of getting back at him for giving the last rice ball to Kaoru.  “Just this once Kaoru-dono I swear.”

Kaoru turned onto Sanosuke with fire in her ears and she started smacking Sanosuke (much to the surprise of Kenshin) who quickly raised his arms to defend himself.  “What are you doing you jerk?  Stop being a bad influence and ruining Kenshin!” she screamed at him, frustrated that none of her blows had landed she sat back in a huff.  “You hear me, leave him alone.”

“What are you doing?” Sanosuke asked in confusion, “I didn’t make Kenshin place the bet, he did that on his own.  Stop blaming me for everything, it’s not my fault.”

“Yes it is,” Kaoru shot back right as the announcement for the fighters to make their way back to the floor as the next round was about to began.  She fumed at Sanosuke, “I’ll deal with you later,” she warned as she jumped to her feet, retrieved her bokken and made her way back to the floor with Kouta.

“Nice jumping in and having my back there Kenshin,” Sanosuke accused.

“Nice of you to always use this one as a human shield whenever you piss Kaoru-dono off,” Kenshin replied with a satisfied grin.

Sanosuke thought about it for a moment, “so we even then?”

Kenshin shrugged, “sure why not?”

“Kenshin, so why won’t you want to put another bet on the Missy, the odds may now be five to one but it’s still pretty good.  Sanosuke asked as they made their way back to the spot they had carved out in the crowd to watch the next fight as things were getting organized. 

“Not at all,” Kenshin shrugged.  “This one just doesn’t like to gamble that’s all.”

Sanosuke looked at him with a raised eyebrow.  “You bet on the Missy before readily enough.”

“But that was a sure win,” Kenshin pointed out.  “This one knows well enough that Kaoru-dono can’t lose against people that anger her that much, so it’s different.  Gambling means there is the possibility of losing, but that situation was completely different, that it was.”

Sanosuke shook his head, “I know I’ve said this before but you’re just plain weird.”

“Coming from you this one takes that as a compliant,” Kenshin replied as Kaoru’s name was called out and she stepped into the ring for the next round.

Kaoru stood patiently as the referee assured that they were both ready and an announcer introduced both of them.  Kaoru’s opponent, Kichirou Uchiyama, eyed her with distain, a look that Kaoru knew well from other dojo masters when they learned that she was a woman who pursued kenjutsu.  Kaoru felt the hackles on the back of her neck start to rise under the Kichirou’s stare but she bowed politely to him before the referee’s hand went down and signaled the beginning of the match.  Kichirou wasted no time in taking the initiative, the referee had just began to step back when he moved forward with a thrust that caught Kaoru by surprise and she twisted away with a back step to the side.  Kichirou turned that thrust into a swing without missing a beat and Kaoru raised her bokken to block the blow.  The weapons crashed with a solid crack, Kaoru felt the shock wave of the impact travel up her arm, and she gritted her teeth against the ache it caused in her hands.

 _Can’t stand toe to toe with this guy, he’s got too much force behind those swings,_ Kaoru thought in frustration.  _And an ax to grind,_ she thought in annoyance as he still bore that same look of contempt on his face as he had before.  Kichirou took another swing at Kaoru that she stepped away from right as he turned the slash around in a surprise feint and thrust at Kaoru, catching her in the sternum and knocking her flat on her back, with her chest aching from the blow.  Kaoru had just enough sense to turn her fall into a break fall and keep her head from hitting the mat.  _Ow, that could have gone better,_ Kaoru thought in disappointment.  _I need to at least look like I’m trying._

“Just stay down,” Kichirou advised her coldly.  “A woman should know her place to a man.”

It took all the restraint that Kaoru had to keep from snarling at the man, _oh you are so dead for that comment you misogynistic ass,_ she thought viciously.  The referee was asking if she was all right but Kaoru didn’t hear a word that he said, even the shouting of the crowd became nothing more than an annoying buzzing in her ears.  She put her hands behind her and arched her body to leap onto her feet.  She positioned her bokken before her in a defensive stance as she stared down her opponent.  _I’ll show you what a Kamiya can really do._

“You should have just accepted defeat,” Kichirou shook his head as the referee gave them the signal to began again.

 _And you should have kept your chauvinistic comments to yourself,_ Kaoru spun away from his attack with a twirl.  He thrust at her but Kaoru danced around the outside of the ring, staying just a few inches inside of the ring.  She kept backing up the whole time, keeping from engaging him, but not staying close enough to his attacks to have to block.

“What the hell is that girl doing?” Sanosuke growled under his breath as Kaoru kept dancing away.  “She has to hit the guy to win and she can’t do that if she’s a mile away from him.”

“I’m sure she has a plan,” Kenshin defended.

“And that plan would be?” Sanosuke asked with a raised eyebrow as he kept one eye on the fight.

“Not to get hit again?” Kenshin offered unhelpfully.  Judging from Sanosuke’s expression he was unamused by Kenshin’s feeble attempt at humor.

Kaoru could see the frustration growing in Kichirou’s eyes as she kept spinning away from him.  He paused for a moment as Kaoru came to a halt two steps out of his reach.  “Are you that scared of me after one little hit?  I even pulled the blow for you since you are just a girl,” Kichirou informed her.

Kaoru just tipped her head to the side with a playful smile on her face, she propped her bokken over her shoulder and raised one hand, beckoning Kichirou forward with her hand, “and are you really that tired already?  Can’t you keep up with a girl?” she mocked.

Kichirou’s face went cold and he rushed forward at Kaoru, Kaoru prayed that her plan would work, she step aside at the last minute but Kichirou was expecting her action, he started to reverse his sword to swing at Kaoru, right before he hit the ground, his back aching in pain.  The referee called a point to Kaoru, making the match 1-1 and Kichirou looked back in disgust at Kaoru who was still standing inside of the ring while he had been knocked outside, realizing what Kaoru had done in an instant. 

 _She fooled me into thinking that she was going to run without defending herself and when I tried to strike her she spun away just to trip me with one leg while she used her bokken to strike from behind at the same time._   Kichirou got to his feet and stepped back into the ring, determined that Kaoru wouldn’t get another point on him to win the match.

 _Okay Kaoru, time to come up with plan two so you can win this fight,_ Kaoru thought in desperation.  _Since this guy probably won’t fall for the same trick again._   She cast through her mind in desperation trying to find a solution but she kept coming up blank and the headache she was beginning to develop from the yelling of the crowd wasn’t helping. 

The referee gave the signal again and the violent dance began when Kichirou stepped forward to attack Kaoru with a leap and overhead slash, determined not to be shown up by her again.  Kaoru caught the slash out of reflex with a shoulder block but the strain on her injured shoulder made her flinch in pain and she fell to her knees.  Kichirou side slashed her from the left, knowing that her moveable would be limited on her knees.  Kaoru saw the slash coming and she raised her bokken to block, the shock against her already irritated shoulder caused her to scream in pain and lose her grip on her bokken and it went flying from her hand and into the crowd of tournament officials and competitors.  Kaoru scrambled back on her hands and knees as quickly as she could to try and put some distance between herself and Kichirou but he just leaped forward to swing another head to toe slash at her, taking advantage of her disarmament. 

The crowd was silent for a moment as the blow fell and Kaoru, acting out of instinct and without thought, raised her hands and caught the blade between her hands.  For a moment she wasn’t in a ring fighting for the honor of her school, she was just a girl, happy that her father was back home from the war.  A girl who had been awaken in the middle of night by strange noises to have her father suddenly attack her with a drawn katana. 

Kaoru caught the katana between her hands like she had been taught in school, she was on her knees, scared and shaking, not understanding why her father suddenly wanted to kill her.  “Papa,” she whispered, she struggled against his strength as he tried to draw his katana out of her grasp and she held on determinedly.  She knew that she couldn’t hold on much longer, her hands were sweating and her grip was slipping.  _I have to get away, I have to get away now!_   Kaoru, with a sudden surge of strength, twisted her grip on the sword, forcing the sword to turn sideways as she twisted her body from its position on the ground to deliver a sidekick, aiming for high on the thigh.  She had been taught to aim for the knee to keep her enemy from being able to chase after her, but this was her father, and despite what was happening she didn’t want to hurt him.

She let the katana slip from her hands as her father stepped backwards and hunched over from the pain in his leg.  Kaoru scrambled to her feet, about to turn to run but the roar of the crowd drew her back to the present she looked around suddenly remembering that she was in a tournament, not at home, and her attacker was Kichirou, not her father.

Kaoru breathed and rushed Kichirou, he swung at her again and she caught his blade again between her hands.  She whipped-kicked his legs, striking the back shin with a quick flick of her leg before bringing her leg forward to catch and sweep the front leg while at the same time she shoved the bokken back as hard as she could, knocking Kichirou off balance and causing him to fall onto his back.

Kaoru kneeled with one knee on the Kichirou’s arm that held the bokken, keeping her weight on it to prevent him from moving that arm while she directed a quick jab at Kichirou’s throat, stopping just a hair’s width away.  Both of them were breathing hard and the referee called a point to Kaoru, grabbed her free arm and lifting it to declare her the winner to the mixed reaction of the audience.  Kaoru heard a ‘way to use that flabby ass of yours’ comment from off to the side and she made the mental note to kill Sanosuke later on.

***

Kaoru slipped into Yahiko’s room to check on the boy once they had gotten back from the tournament.  She saw Yahiko was sleeping, the pitcher of water, mug, and bowl of food covered with a cloth that they had left for Yahiko when they left for the tournament were still sitting next to the futon.  Kaoru crept across the floor careful to keep from waking the boy.  She checked the contents of the pitcher and bowl, her lips pursed at their contents.  _Well at least he drank most of the water today, but he barely touched any of the food._   She reached a hand over and felt Yahiko’s forehead to check his temperature, she mentally sighed when she felt his burning skin.  _Maybe the fever will break tonight and he’ll feel better tomorrow._

“Kaoru?” Yahiko moaned half asleep, blinking his tired eyes at her.  “That you?”

“Yes Yahiko, it’s me, is there anything I can get for you?” Kaoru asked in concern.

“No,” Yahiko moaned in reply, shaking a little.  His eyes closed as he started falling back to sleep.  Kaoru tucked the covers back up and around him before she crept out of the room and into main room of the house. 

“The bath will be ready for you soon Kaoru-dono.  By the way how is Yahiko doing?” Kenshin asked, looking up.

“Still sick,” Kaoru replied with a shake of her head.  “The kid’s so out of it he didn’t even ask about the tournament,” Kaoru half laughed.  “By the way would it be too much to ask for a hot compress?  My chest is killing me.”

“I’ll go get one ready,” Kenshin offered, scrambling out of the room to the kitchen to heat a compress for her.  Kaoru leaned back against the wall on a cushion.  Freckles walked into the room and over to her, rubbing against her knee and purring as he begged for attention.  Kaoru was struck with an idea, picked up the cat, and held him against her chest.  His warm body was almost as good as a compress as he dug his claws into the cloth of her kimono at the shoulder to support himself as he stretched out and Kaoru kept rubbing his back to assure that Freckles didn’t get bored and walk off on her.

“Kaoru, Kaoru!” Ayame and Suzume came bounding into the house like wild things straight to Kaoru who they wrapped up in a big hug.  Freckles claws dug painfully into Kaoru’s shoulder and she winched but Freckles was unwilling to leave his warm spot.  “How’d you do in the tournament?” they asked breathlessly as Doctor Gensei and Megumi came into the house. 

“We couldn’t come and see you because Grandpa had too many sick patients to bring us along.” Ayame pouted.

Kaoru gave the girls a quick hug, keeping one hand on Freckles at the same time.

“Things went well today, I made it to the third round which starts tomorrow morning.  So did Kouta.”  Kaoru informed them happily.

“I’m surprised you made it this far still looking human,” Megumi told her with a slight laugh and Kaoru scowled at her.

“Not a problem, I can take those guys,” Kaoru retorted resentfully.

“Did you hurt yourself Kaoru-chan?” Doctor Gensei asked seriously, talking up a seat next to her, completely ignoring the look she was giving Megumi.

“Nothing all that bad, managed to get a bruised chest by not dodging fast enough but nothing bad,” Kaoru answered with a smile.

“Kaoru-dono I have the hot compress for you, oh hello Doctor Gensei and Megumi-dono,” Kenshin greeted when he saw the newcomers.

“Never mind on the hot compress,” Kaoru asked with a grin, “Freckles is working quite nicely for the moment, so long as he stays.”

Kenshin laughed when he saw the black cat kneading contently on Kaoru’s shoulder as he stretched out against her.  “Well this one will keep the compress warm for when Freckles becomes fickle and leaves you Kaoru-dono, that I will.”

“Uncle Kenny, Uncle Kenny, will you play with us?” Ayame and Suzume begged, leaving Kaoru and bounding up to Kenshin.

Kenshin answered the girls with a smile, assuring them that he would love to play with them as Megumi turned to him with a flutter of her eyelids, “Ken-san, would you like me to prepare something for dinner?”

Kenshin shook his head with a friendly smile, unaware of Kaoru fuming behind him, “actually Sano was going to bring some food here for dinner.  Said he had to keep his money maker in top condition or something like that.”

“That free loader is actually doing something?” Megumi asked with raised eyebrows.  “He must have won a lot of money then, or else he’s coming down with some head disease, either way I don’t really care.  Oh by the way, where’s Yahiko?”  Megumi asked as she looked around, realizing for the first time that the boy wasn’t there.

“He’s sick,” Kenshin replied quickly.  “He’s had a fever and been sleeping all day, Kaoru just went in to check on him.”

“Well I should go see to him then,” Megumi answered briskly, “make sure that it’s nothing serious.” 

“Ayame and Suzume will you help this one finish getting the bath ready for Kaoru-dono?” Kenshin asked the little girls who cheered in reply, happy to be helping their Uncle Kenny.  Kenshin led them out of the room as Megumi swept out to check on Yahiko and Doctor Gensei stayed with Kaoru and she told him all about the day’s events as he had been unable to be there.

“Kaoru-dono, that bath is ready and I left a fresh change of clothes in the bathhouse for you,” Kenshin said as he poked his head through the door after Kaoru had just concluded telling Doctor Gensei about the day’s events. 

After Kaoru had finished her bath and walked back into the house, Sanosuke returned with dinner from the Akebeko neatly packed into small containers and Megumi was dividing out the food and doing her best to keep Sanosuke from snatching anything until everything was laid out.

“What were you born in a barn?” Megumi asked irritation.

“On the edge of a rice field actually,” Sanosuke retorted with unconcern while he tried to steal a hunk of meat from the bowl Megumi had place it in.  Megumi slapped his hand away with a wooden spoon.

“Sanosuke Sagara if you don’t stop right this minute then I’m going to use this spoon on you,” She spat at him from behind clenched teeth.

Sanosuke snorted at that, “like that’ll scare me, you hit like a girl.”

Megumi started fuming and the next time that Sanosuke made a reach for the food she snapped the spoon so hard across the back of his wrist that the spoon snapped in half and Sanosuke howled in pain grabbing his wounded wrist.

Kaoru threw her head back and laughed loudly, even Ayame and Suzume started giggling.  Megumi wore a smug expression on her face, Kenshin sighed and rolled his eyes, having seen this fate for Sanosuke quite some time before.  Doctor Gensei was the only one who went to Sanosuke’s side and asked if he was all right and to examine his wrist.

“I think you broke my wrist you bi-” Sanosuke cut off after a quick look from all the adults kept him from swearing in front of the girls, “-big meany,” Sanosuke finished rather lamely.

“It’s not broken,” Doctor Gensei corrected, “just bruised, Megumi appears to have a rather good strike with wooden spoons.”

Sanosuke muttered something under his breath and Megumi’s eyebrow quirked at him.  “What was that?” Megumi asked loftily.

“Nothing at all,” Sanosuke smirked at her, his look betraying what his comment had been about.

“How ‘bout dinner now?” Kaoru broke in, trying to break up the fight as she was starving hungry.

“Then a story!” Suzume agreed happily.


	8. On to the Semi-Finals

**Chapter 7**

**On to the Semi-Finals**

It was dark, the waning moon was nothing more than a sliver in the sky that barely showed the figures who were dressed in dark clothes as they flittered over the wall of the compound and made their way into the store room and counting house in an organized fashion.  They worked in almost complete darkness as barrels and boxes were carried out to the wall and lifted over with a series of ropes to the men on the other side.  Meanwhile, those in the counting room broke into the money chest and were busy grabbing bags of coins and making their way out to the wall. 

The clouds fluttered overhead as the last of the men lifted their goods over the wall to their comrades on the other side and were about to climb over themselves when a voice broke through the night.

“Hey you there!”

Without hesitation, one of the figures turned and pulled out a tanto from their clothes and stabbed the man through the chest, a blood-curdling scream filled the night as the man collapsed to the ground and bled out.  The dark clad figures quickly climbed over the wall as the house came alive with light and others rushed out to investigate the cause of the disturbance.  They found the man on the ground dead and next to him was a picture of a soldier.

One of the men of the household picked up the picture that had a smear of blood in the corner to better read the caricature and the name printed there. 

“Who the hell is Captain Sagara…?” the man breathed.

***

Kouta watched in concern as Kaoru stepped onto the tournament floor moving at the pace of a snail and holding herself unusually upright.  He instantly walked over to her side, “hey Kaoru-kun what’s up, you feeling okay?” he asked in concern. 

Kaoru gave him a halfhearted grin, “I may have some cracked ribs from yesterday.  It nearly killed me just getting dressed this morning and walking here, let alone fighting.”

_Shit,_ Kouta swore, he had wanted to see Kaoru do well, they had never been especially close as children, but still Kouta wanted to see Kaoru succeed in the tournament so that the disgrace her dojo had fallen into of late could hopefully be reversed, at least somewhat, and she could recruit some new students.

“Hey don’t worry about me,” Kaoru assured him, seeing the look on his face.  “I’ll be fine, you just worry about yourself okay?”  Kaoru walked off and Kouta leaned against the small wall separating the competitors and arena officials from the crowds, hoping for a miracle but not sure such things existed.  He stared at the man she would be sparing against, Hideki, he remembered him as a man who had spent most of his free time the day before leering at Kaoru.  With a flash of insight, Kouta remembered an affair from his childhood and how Kaoru had reacted to the situation and he knew what he had to do.   Kouta moved over to stand next to Hideki.  He nodded his head to acknowledge Hideki before turning back to watch the officials mill around and the audience shove their way into the seats and desperately find a place to watch the fights.

“Weren’t you talking with that girl in the tournament yesterday?” Hideki asked, pushing his greasy hair out of his eyes.

Kouta was trying hard not to breathe too deeply around the man.  Hideki reeked as though he had not bathed in weeks, his clothing was filthy, he hadn’t shaved in several days and had a scraggly beard.  Kouta wished that whoever had taught the man kenjutsu also instilled good hygiene into him.

“That’s right, Kaoru-kun and I go way back,” he answered, trying not to display the disgust he felt standing this close to the man.

“Lucky guy,” Hideki laughed crudely.  “That’s a wild horse I’d love to jump on.”

Kouta laughed with the man even as the hackles on the back of his neck rose and he had to stop himself from wiping the smug look off the man’s face.  “It’s certainly a fun ride,” he played along. 

“You speaking from experience?”  Hideki asked, his face quirked in interest.

 Kouta let a secretive smile cross his face, imagining what Kaoru was going to do to the guy if this idea of his panned out.  “She may seem like a standoffish girl who won’t put out, but believe me she’s easier than you think, with a little encouragement.”  Kouta assured Hideki.

“Really?” Hideki rubbed his chin and his eyes found Kaoru on the other side of the floor.  “Isn’t that interesting?  She sounds like my type all right.”

The officials had finally gotten their act together and made the opening announcements and called the first round of fighters for the day to the ring.  Hideki moved forward to the ring for his fight with Kaoru and Kouta leaned back against the half wall around the tournament floor. 

“Oh yeah Kaoru-kun’s easy all right,” he continued to no one in particular, once Hideki had moved out of hearing range.  “Easiest person to get ticked off that I’ve ever seen, especially when someone tries to take advantage of her.”  _Maybe I should have mentioned that when he was still around to hear?_ Kouta laughed quietly to himself.  _Time for the fun to began…_

 

 “This one should be a tough for the Missy,” Sanosuke mused as he watched Kaoru and Hideki step into the ring as their names were announced and the referee stepped between them so that he could signal the beginning of the round when the formalities were over.  “You remember this guy from yesterday?  He’s absolutely ruthless, and Kaoru’s moving like an old woman.”

“She’s hurt from yesterday,” Kenshin snapped in reply, never taking his eyes off the ring for an instant.  He was out of reflex crunching his hakama’s, wadding and wrinkling them in the process.  Kaoru would be horrified if she saw, considering how much time she would spend ironing them so the pleats would lay just right.

“I was just making a simple statement, there’s no need to bit my head off for it,” Sanosuke retorted but Kenshin ignored him.  Kenshin had seen Hideki fight the day before and he shudder to think that Kaoru would have to face such a man that had almost been disqualified because he refused to back off and stop beating a contender the day before when he had been ordered to by the referee.  Especially as Kaoru was moving slowly, her ribs probably cracked, or at the least bruised from the day before.

The signal for the beginning of the match was given and Hideki immediately leaped forward while Kaoru hastily raised her bokken to defend.  Hideki didn’t let up, keeping Kaoru on the defensive and her whole face was contorted in pain as she struggled to keep up with him, her breath coming in sharp gasps.  Kenshin could tell Kaoru was on her last legs and about to lose, the crowd knew it too and the shouting was deafening, Kenshin couldn’t even hear himself think.

Hideki struck again and this time his and Kaoru’s weapons locked for a moment and Kenshin saw a quick flash.

_Did he just…?_   Kenshin wondered for a heartbeat before there was a screech that sounded like a cross between a crazed banshee and a bloodthirsty demon filled the tournament hall and the complete silence which followed was almost as deafening as when the whole audience had been shouting at the top of their lungs.  That scream confirmed Kenshin’s suspensions as to what had happened, and in fury that the man would do such a thing to Kaoru he started forward, but Sanosuke’s hand on his shoulder stopped him.

Kaoru however need no assistance from Kenshin.  With strength born from undulated rage, and her injured ribs complete forgotten with the sudden surge of adrenaline and pure fury.  Kaoru shoved Hideki back half a step before twisting into a sidekick that knocked him back, out of the ring and right into a group of tournament officials, the whole lot going down in a tangle of arms and legs.

“That son of a plagued whore,” Kenshin swore trying to leap to Kaoru’s aid but Sanosuke was wrestling him back and keeping Kenshin from drawing his sword while the crowd roared with laughter at Kaoru’s quick comeback.

“Kenshin, Kaoru’s really doesn’t need your help for the moment,” Sanosuke reasoned as he forced Kenshin back into his seat.  “Will you stop for a moment?  Jump in there now and Kaoru’s disqualified, is that what you want?”

With a snort of anger, Kenshin sat back down without protest and crossed his arms, for the moment he would let this pass.  He made a silent claim on whatever remained of Hideki after the match.

Down on the tournament floor, Kouta was doing his best to hold himself up from laughing so hard.  _The damn fool, I wanted him to make so kind of a comment to Kaoru-kun, not to try and feel her up.  If he’s smart he won’t get back into the ring, but fortunately for me he’s an idiot,_ Kouta pulled himself together as Hideki stood up with a lopsided grin at Kaoru, whipped his mouth with the back of his hand and stepped back into the ring.  Kaoru watched Hideki with burning eyes, her bokken twitching angrily at her side, not unlike a cat’s tail before it pounces for the kill.  When Hideki stepped back into the ring, Kaoru immediately went into a defensive crouch, ready for the signal.

_One more step and I’ll skin you alive for that,_ Kaoru thought dangerously as Hideki stood across from her and the referee prepared to give the signal.  _You take one step forward and you’re mine._

Kouta grinned as Kaoru rushed forward the moment the referee gave the signal and immediately pushed Hideki back out of the ring with three quick swings, earning him a warning from the referee and causing a momentary pause in the fight. 

_It’s good to know that there are a few things in life that you can count on,_ Kouta thought to himself, _death, taxes, and Kaoru-kun’s wrath, she hasn’t changed a bit._   Years before, because their families were close it had been loosely proposed that Kaoru should marry one of Master Mawakawa’s son’s.  Kouta, as the oldest, figured it would probably be him and was teasing Kaoru about it one day, saying that if they were married she would have to be respectful and do whatever he told her to do.  She responded with her typical approach, tipping her head, saying ‘you mean by not doing something like this?’ and then shoving him back.  Unfortunately, Kouta tripped over the wooden platform next to the well and went over the side, falling to the bottom with a splash.  He then suggested to his father that maybe it would be better if Kaoru married into her own kind (like a jikinnki or maybe an oni) instead of their family.  After that the whole idea was quietly put aside.

The fight resumed once again, and Kaoru was giving no quarter, rage making her aches and pains fade.  She stepped forward with an upwards slash to the right following with a forty-five-degree step and cut to the abdomen, quick shoulder block at the one attack Hideki had managed to return before she took a giant step forward into a thrust.  Her thrust struck home and knocked Hideki back several steps clenching his chest in pain, the referee called the point as Hideki sunk to his knees, clenching his broken ribs.  Kaoru straightened up, looking with utter contempt down on Hideki.

“You’re just lucky there’s a referee around or otherwise I’d break every bone in your disgusting body,” Kaoru snarled before stalking out of the ring and taking a stand next to Kouta.

“Enjoy yourself?” Kouta asked without the slightest trace of sarcasm.

“Oh yes having filthy pervert’s grimy hands on my person always makes my day,” Kaoru retorted. 

“Yeah me too,” Kouta returned without the trace of a smile and Kaoru gave him a look.

***

Akio stood alone in the crowd of screaming spectators, holding his chest and watching the fights through eyes that were blackened, one almost completely swollen shut.  He had taken Yahiko’s advice on a whim and come to the tournament to watch Kaoru.  For the second day in a row he watched her fight.  He had to admit that after her first match he had to take back his previous judgment about her not knowing much about fighting.  But there was something else in her fights that brought him back for the second day to watch, he noticed how she didn’t let someone insult or underestimate her without standing up for herself and holding her own.  That was what he watched with a yearning that was almost painful, the way she could hold herself up despite the odds against her.  The second day it was even more obvious.  He had seen her as she came in that morning and one glance at her hunched over and he knew that she had cracked, or at the least, bruised ribs.  He knew exactly how that felt and how hard it was to move.  Then he watched how she had overcome that when her honor had been insulted.

_If I could have that,_ the strength of his emotions welled up inside of him and he tightened his arms against himself thinking about he would never be picked on by the bullies again, how his family would stop acting like he was a complete failure whenever he came home bruised and beaten.  _If I could only be like that…_

_***_

Kaoru sat on the edge of the tournament floor trying to stay out of the way off all the people as she held herself in the least painful position possible and keeping an eye on Kouta’s fight, the winner of who she would have to face in the semi-final.  Kaoru wasn’t sure if she really wanted Kouta to win or not.  On the one hand she knew how hard he worked for this and she wanted him to do well, on the other hand she had also sparred with him enough times over the years and knew she wouldn’t be a match for him in her present condition.  And there was always the possibility that Kouta would throw the fight in her favor, knowing that she needed to win in this tournament far more than he did.  It wasn’t just the honor of her school at risk but her home and livelihood.  And she _really_ didn’t want Kouta’s pity. 

“I presume that you are the daughter of Koshijiro Kamiya, the famous swordsman who won the Shogun’s Tournament when he was only 15?”

Kaoru’s head swung around to face the owner of the voice to realize that it was Enshiro Mariya, the most famous kenjutsu master in all of Japan.  Kaoru’s mouth fell open for a moment before she pulled herself together and scrambled to her feet, she flinched in pain realizing that she had moved far faster than her injured ribs would allow.  “Yes sir, I am the daughter of Koshijiro Kamiya.”  Kaoru replied politely, bowing to Master Mariya and ignoring Kouta’s fight right as there was a roar from the crowd and the referee calling a point.  Kaoru was more interested in the man in front of her to look to see if Kouta or his opponent had won the point.

“You should go a little easier on those cracked ribs of yours,” Master Mariya advised her wisely.

“It’s not that bad, besides I think they may be only bruised.” Kaoru assured him.

“In my experience the only difference between the two is how long they take to heal,” Master Mariya replied.  “I’ve watch your fights with interest, I did not realize that I would have a chance to observe the Kamiya style again at this tournament but I have enjoyed the experience.  Good luck in your next round and do move a little slower, you don’t want to injury yourself further before the match.”  With that Master Mariya bowed and walked away from Kaoru.

Kaoru bowed back out of instinct, a little smile on her face.  _He has to be the first person at this tournament who hasn’t treated me with complete contempt,_ _except for Kouta who doesn’t count,_ Kaoru thought with satisfaction.  _He is certainly different than most dojo masters._

There was another cheer from the crowd and Kaoru glanced around in surprise, forgetting where she was for a moment, realizing suddenly that Kouta’s fight was over and she missed how he had been able to pull off a stunning victory.  Kouta leaped down from the floor and came over to Kaoru grinning from ear to ear.  “Did you see that, had to be one of the best fights ever!”

Kaoru’s mouth dropped open and her eyes went wide, “no sorry, Master Mariya came over and had a few words with me and I completely missed it.”

Kouta’s face fell, “it was great, just take my word for it.”

“I believe you,” Kaoru assured him.

“You know what this means right?” Kouta asked her.

“Yeah, it means after we break for lunch then we fight to advance to the finals.”  Kaoru replied.  “I’m not an idiot you know.  And then you’ll beat me and advance to the finals and I’ll go home and nurse these hurt ribs.”

“What kind of sprit is that?” Kouta asked her in disbelief.  “Yes I could wipe the floor with you right now, but if you pull yourself together, put those ribs of yours on the backburner, you could at least give me a decent workout, before I completely pummel you that is.”

“I see that you’re not going to show any mercy here are you?” Kaoru replied drily.

“Why should I?  You wouldn’t do the same in my shoes, you’ve got something to prove and so do I, but I want to at least have a good fight, that way people won’t think that you just let me win.”

_Men,_ Kaoru rolled her eyes.  “I’d love to give you a good show at least, but honestly I’m in so much pain right now that’s not going to happen.”

“Is that so?” Kouta mused before he turned to Kaoru with a devilish grin in his eyes.  “Then chew over this until our fight.  You know how that guy who tried to feel you up in your last match?  Well I put him up to it.”  With that Kouta walked away knowing that he was going to get the match he wanted.  Kaoru followed him at first with shock and surprise in her eyes that slowly hardened into anger and rage. 

***

During the next two fights Kaoru had burned with anger the more she thought about what Kouta had said.  She ate lunch in complete silence ignoring all attempts from Kenshin, Sanosuke, Megumi, Doctor Gensei, or the girls to engage her in conversation.  She just seethed on the humiliation she had suffered earlier in front of everyone and how Kouta had put the man up to doing it in the first place.  A small part of her reasoned that Kouta probably hadn’t meant for the affair to go as far as it had, but that was beside the point, he had meant something to come out of it and that was exactly what Kaoru intended to pay him back for.  So after being strengthen by another of Doctor’s Gensei’s brews to help dull the pain, she strolled into the ring after lunch with the full intention of getting at least one point against Kouta, and if she could, she was going to try to completely humiliate him in reply.  She figured that would make them even.

Kouta’s face was serious, he knew that he had pushed Kaoru far enough to bring out her best and worst side as a swordsmen, the part that would try to win no matter the cost to herself.  It has the sprit that had gotten her this far in the tournament.  _Good, I’d never did like fighting Kaoru when her head isn’t in the game,_ Kouta thought with satisfaction.  _It’s not fun if it isn’t a challenge._  

The referee called the match and leaped back out of the way but neither Kaoru or Kouta moved from where they stood in position, holding their swords in guarding positions.  The crowd shouted for them to jump into action but Kaoru and Kouta both drown out the noise.  The referee glanced between the two in curiosity, neither had held back before in the tournament, this hesitation on both of their parts was far out of character. 

“The fight has been called, you can attack now,” the referee informed them, thinking that they both must have just missed the signal.  Kaoru and Kouta ignored him.  They continued to stare each other down but never moved their bokkens’ held before themselves. 

“What the hell are they doing there, having a tea party?” Sanosuke swore.  “This isn’t time to act like a girl Kaoru, move your ass!” He yelled, his voice drowned in the roar of the crowd that demanded them to move.

Kenshin put his hands over his ears, his head was ringing from all the noise, “oro,” he moaned, wishing Kaoru and Kouta would do something so that crowd would be at least slightly appeased.

Suddenly Kaoru and Kouta straightened up and started walking in a ring around the center of the floor, keeping their eyes on the other at all times until they had almost traded places before they stopped circling, still holding their weapons down at their sides, completely out of the way to attack or defend.  

“I think the crowd wants to see a fight,” Kouta remarked, his tone neutral.

“I never listen to what the crowd says…usually,” Kaoru answered.  “How the hell could you have put that ass up to it Kouta?”

“Well to be honest I simply made a comment, it isn’t my fault that he didn’t stick around for me to tell him it was a bad idea, and I certainly can’t help it if he thought I meant something else entirely.”

Kaoru’s eyes narrowed, “yes it is, you planned it that way.”

“Prove it,” Kourta challenged. 

Kaoru’s lips pursed before she stepped forward, whipping her bokken around so fast that it was a blur and Kouta raised his weapon and they collided with a sharp crack that was heard even over the din of the crowd. 

“It’s about damn time they did something,” Sanosuke grumbled.  “But we finally get our fight, eh Kenshin?” Sanosuke asked, slapping Kenshin on the shoulder.

Kenshin dropped his hands from his ears, “huh? What’d you say?”

Sanosuke shook his head, “never mind.”

Their weapons collided with another sharp crack, Kouta shoved Kaoru back with his weapon, and Kaoru stumbled back with her particular half shuffling born from all the years of dance lessons that she had taken.

Kouta raised an eyebrow in amusement, he knew very well why Kaoru’s footing occasionally got ‘interesting’, her father had tried to train that out of her, the unfortunate part was that Kaoru still had perfect control while doing her shuffling motion and so it had been a hard habit to break.  Kouta raised his bokken to his lips, pretending it was a pipe that he was playing.

“Oh shove it,” Kaoru growled, knowing that he was mocking her footwork like he always did. 

“Make me,” Kouta taunted.

***

Master Mariya watched the fight between Kaoru and Kouta with interest as he had all the fights Kaoru had participated in.  He had been at the Shogun’s tournament years before with a few of his students who were participating when Kaoru’s father had fought for the first time.  Master Mariya remembered how everyone had scoffed at this kid, just past his Genouku ceremony and wearing the daisho of the samurai.  No one believed that he would last long in the tournament against some of the best swordsmen in the country.  They had all been proven wrong.  Master Mariya had learned then that it was foolish to underestimated a Kamiya based solely on appearance, with her father it had been his youth, with Kaoru it was her gender. 

When Kaoru had first arrived at the tournament and Master Mariya learned of who she was he was not as willing as some of the others to dismiss her abilities, figuring if she was anything like her father then she would surprise everyone.  He had also known several woman who had pursued the martial arts and knew what a woman could be capable of with proper training.  He still believed that a woman’s role was primarily in the home, but he also considered the wisdom of a woman being able to defend her person and children in the event that her husband was not home.  It was only logical after all.

Sill Master Mariya did not think it was proper for a woman to be fighting in the tournament, so he had made a few discreet inquiries about why Kaoru’s father would allow his daughter to represent the school like this.  It was then that he learned that Koshijiro Kamiya had died many years before and Kaoru had taken his palace as the master of the school as the other Kamiya’s were not to be trusted with the running of the dojo.  He also learned of the recent misfortune that the school had experienced, how this was Kaoru’s last attempt to retain the home and dojo her family had built more than 300 years before, and the style that her father had spent his life developing.  Master Mariya thought that Kaoru’s performance so far reflected that spirit of trying to persevere what little was left to her, also about wanting to be seen as an equal by all the men who looked down on her.

Master Mariya smiled as he watched the fight.  He had seen the Kaoru and Kouta speaking frequently throughout the tournament and figured that they knew each other.  That suspicion was further confirmed by the way they fight, he noticed right from the start that these two must have spared with each often.  They knew the way the other moved and made adjustments without thinking, it was more than just anticipating the other’s action, it was the intimate knowledge of another’s preferences, strengths, and weakness, that only came from having frequently facing the other in combat. 

Master Mariya’s eyes furrowed as he watched Kaoru stumble back with her particular shuffling pattern, he had seen it before in the tournament and had wondered about it.  He didn’t believe that it was something that had been taught to her by her father, it seemed more like a bad habit to Master Mariya and he wondered why her father had not been able to train it out of her.  His questions were answered when Kouta raised his bokken to tease Kaoru, pretending to play it like a pipe.  At that moment Master Mariya realized where he had seen steps like that before, _the girl must have also been taught dancing as well, probably at the same time as her kenjutsu lessons, that’s why she sometimes moves like that._   Master Mariya shook his head, _a habit she should really break, though it probably confuses other fighters who have never seen anything like that before._

Kaoru and Kouta exchanged some taunt before Kaoru’s lips drew back in a half snarl and Kouta tilted his head, clicking his fingers against his bokken.  Master Mariya had seen Kouta do that before in the tournament, it was akin to the way Kaoru would swish her bokken like a cat’s tail before she leaped.  As expected, Kouta jumped forward, making a quick slash towards Kaoru that she blocked, having known what was coming.  Kouta jerked his blade back the moment it clashed with Kaoru’s, rubbing the two weapons together and forced his point at Kaoru’s body, leaning forward in a thrust, all of which took less than a second to do.  Master Mariya had seen Kouta employ a similar move to win the previous round.

Kaoru however had also seen that move, not in the tournament but in other matches between them.  So the moment Kouta started pulling his weapon back and forcing the point of his weapon at her, she fell backwards as though practicing her break-falling.  She slapped her palms on the ring’s floor and raised her feet to catch Kouta in the chest as he was moving forward in his thrust, using his own momentum to throw him over herself.  In that same motion, Kaoru curled her body so she flipped back over to her feet, and landed upright.  Normally she would then straighten up and turn to attack her opponent who would be thrown on their face, but Kaoru stayed huddled over clenching her ribs.  She remembered someone screaming when Kouta had collided with her feet and she had thrown him.  Dimly she realized that it had to have been her screaming from the pain in her side. 

But just as Kaoru had seen Kouta’s move coming he had seen her move as well.  The moment she started to throw him he began brace his body, and the moment he had cleared Kaoru and was about to hit the ground he curled his free arm, keeping his bokken clear.  His free arm hit the ground first and he forced himself to roll like a wheel until his feet hit the ground and he sprung to his feet, facing away from Kaoru.

He turned back towards Kaoru in the space of a heartbeat and started forward to attack her unprotected back.  Kaoru saw him out of the corner of her eye, and acting out of instinct she turned to face him, swinging her bokken in response to smack Kouta in the side as his bokken hit her left shoulder and Kaoru cried out in pain again as it irritated her hurt shoulder, still not fully healed from being shot.

“A point each, the next hit determines the round,” the referee called, stepping between the two.

Kouta dropped his weapon, not meaning to have hurt Kaoru, “Kaoru, you all right?”

Kaoru glared at him in disbelief, “oh yes Kouta, I always scream in pain when I’m fine.  It’s just one of those silly girl things,” she snapped.

“Right up there with biting off a guy’s head for no reason.” Kouta muttered, rolling his eyes.

“No one asked for your opinion,” Kaoru fumed and Kouta flinched, he had forgotten how good Kaoru’s hearing was.

“Can you go on?” the referee asked Kaoru.  “If you can’t then you forfeit the match.”

“Gees, hold your horses for a minute, I’m fine didn’t you hear?” Kaoru growled pulling herself upright with a surge of determination and a great deal of winching.  She rubbed her hurt shoulder that ached in protest, but at least it was mild compared to the stabbing pains in her side.  _I think those ribs might be a little more than bruised now,_ Kaoru thought regretfully.  _Just my luck too._

Kouta looked at Kaoru in disbelief, “you don’t really have to go on Kaoru, everyone will understand.”

Kaoru tipped her head at him, “you of all people should know that I always finish my fights.”

Kouta sighed internally, _damn her stubbornness, I don’t really want to hurt her again but she ought to know that she doesn’t have a chance now, not with as much pain as she’s in.  Not that she had much of a chance to began with._

_That was the stupidest move you’ve ever done Kaoru.  Why the hell don’t you just bow out now?_   She wondered.  _Kouta’s right, no one would hold it against you.  Hell, they’re all surprised that I’ve made it this far.  Damn my stubbornness._

“That a girl, kick some ass!” Sanosuke screamed, thoroughly enjoying the fight, especially with as much money as he had riding on the outcome.  Kenshin covered his ears and tried to drown out the noises of the cheering squad of one next to him as he watched Kaoru’s fight in worry.  He could tell from where he sat that Kaoru was badly hurt and he couldn’t understand why she wasn’t bowing out, _damn her stubbornness._

Kenshin felt the prickling feeling between his shoulder blades again and he stubbornly ignored it.  He knew that Ashikaga had come to the second day of the tournament along with his wife and several other members of state, there was someone else in a police uniform standing back in the shadows that Kenshin couldn’t see clearly but he paid him no mind.  Kenshin figured it was just a police officer on guard duty or something, though he wondered why the man would smoke on guard duty.  Kenshin was also aware that Ashikaga had spent almost the entire time staring at Kenshin.  Personally, Kenshin was finding the situation more than a little unsettling and he wondered why Ashikaga was so interested in him.  He wished that he would just come out and ask what he was going to so that Kenshin could turn it down and go back to his peaceful life at the dojo.

Master Mariya watched Kaoru’s actions with narrowed eyes, _I hope that girl has a plan, because she won’t last long with the condition she’s in._

Kaoru struggled to breath against the pain, her face going white with pain and she tried hard not to grimace so much as the stabbing seemed to grow in intensity.  _You are only going to have one chance at this, let’s hope all that practice is going to pay off because I haven’t tried this for real in five years.  But…_   Kaoru reasoned as she glanced at the crowd that surrounded the ring on three sides, the fourth side of the area was taken up by the boxes of the wealthy and members of the government who had turned out, many of their occupants were too concerned with socializing and spared little attention to the fights themselves.  _But I also don’t want to show too many people one for master level secrets of the school.  I’ve got to be smart if I’m going to try this._

She remembered how Yahiko had watched her as though she was crazy when she would throw two stones in the air then attempt to catch one with her fingers while moving to the side and hit the other with the hilt of her bokken at the same time.  Yahiko had asked her then what madness she was practicing and Kaoru had just shrugged and told him that when he finally advanced past a beginner then she might show him, to which he had moaned and complained.

The referee looked at Kaoru as though she was mad but stepped between the two and gave the signal to begin with a jump back to clear out of the area.

Kouta wasted no time with this round, he stepped forward with a head to toe slash, trying to end the fight quickly.  Kaoru moved just as fast despite her injury.  One moment Kouta was swinging his sword at her and the next Kaoru had stepped forward at an angle, putting her back to the crowd as an ear-splitting crack filled the air.  The referee was showered with wood chips and Kouta stared for a moment in disbelief at his shattered weapon, the tip dangling by a sliver of wood from the hilt end.  Kaoru’s face was also strangely blank, though for an entirely different reason, almost as an afterthought she whipped her bokken and held it to Kouta’s throat.  It took the referee several minutes to clear his eyes, call the point, and give the win to Kaoru.

“Kaoru are you all right?” Kouta asked, getting over his shock of Kaoru shattering his weapon to see the strange look on Kaoru’s face.

Kaoru didn’t say a word, she just turned and slowly walked out of the ring and across the floor to the side of the tournament area, buried her head into her right shoulder and screamed in pain for a moment.  Kouta followed Kaoru over to the side, “Kaoru, what’s wrong?”  he asked in concern.

Kaoru looked up at Kouta with wide eyes.  “I think I might have broken my hand doing that, I really messed up the timing, I should have spent more time practicing.  Oh why did I ever let myself get so rusty?  What the hell was I thinking?”  Kaoru muttered to herself.

Kouta couldn’t hear everything she said but he got the general jest.  “Let’s get you some help before the finals,” Kouta urged.  _And then maybe some mental help after that_.  “They won’t be for a bit so you have some time to recoup.”

Suddenly Doctor Gensei’s face emerged next to them with Megumi holding onto Suzume and Ayame’s hand to keep from losing them in the crowd.  “Kaoru-chan what on earth have you done to yourself now?” Doctor Gensei sighed, talking Kaoru in hand.  He had been wise enough that he had brought a case that he always carried when making rounds and had filled it with anything he might need to treat Kaoru during the tournament and then some, just in case.  Kaoru disappeared with them into the crowd and Kouta turned back as Master Mariya faced off with the last contestant to decided who was going to face Kaoru in the finals.  Kouta shook his head, _where in the hell did Kaoru learn to break a blade like that?_   He wondered.  _And more importantly, why is the first I’m ever hearing that she could do that, let alone see it?_

“Damn,” Sanosuke swore, “since when could the Missy do that?  And more importantly, how did she do it?”  he turned to Kenshin to furnish him with the answer.

“Her father,” Kenshin replied shortly, “I had heard that he broke many blades in Kyoto, that was part of his reputation, apparently he taught Kaoru-dono how it was done.”   Kenshin answered, “but as to the specifics of it, this one does not know.  I’ve never seen it performed and Kaoru seemed to make sure that not many saw how it was carried out here as well.  Very smart to preserve the secret, that it was,” Kenshin complimented.

“Yeah but it kept us from seeing the show,” Sanosuke complained. 

To those in the boxes who had seen Kaoru’s move they had stopped and wondered about it.  Some wondered about this girl broke blades.  But in the box of Ashikaga the police officer watched with amusement, recognizing the move in an instant, after all how many times had he seen the original developer of the technique employ the move to get his kill?

“Sayri, leave us for a moment,” Ashikaga ordered.  “The Lieutenant and I need to have a word.”  Sayri bowed her head and quickly left the box, Ashikaga didn’t turn around to face Lieutenant Fujita behind him.  If he had found himself alone and this close to the man behind him during the revolution he would have been dead in an instant.  Now he could give orders to that same man and trust that they would be carried out to the letter, _the world is indeed a strange place._

“What are your conclusions about the target so far?” Ashikaga asked.

Lieutenant Fujita lit up another cigarette before answering.  “The Battosai appears to be just another normal member of the crowd, though I’m surprised to find that he is now living with the daughter of Kamiya, given her father’s ‘position’ in the war.”  _That’s ironic even for me._

“I was more interested in whether he would be useful for the present situation,” Ashikaga corrected with mild frustration.  “As someone who has fought with him in the past you are uniquely qualified to assess his present strength.”

“I can’t tell much from across a crowd, he would be foolish to show his true colors here anyways,” Lieutenant Fujita replied calmly.   

“Then do what you have to do assess the situation and give me a report,” Ashikaga ordered.

“But I’m in the middle of cracking the Kurogasa affair at present.”  The Lieutenant pointed out.

Ashikaga sighed, rubbing his eyes as the next fight begin, feeling a thousand years old and knowing that the Lieutenant was right.  Kurogasa had been the code name given to the assassin who had murdered dozens of governmental officials since the revolution.  He had recently died after a failed duel with Kenshin but the investigation into the man who had hired him had continued.  “All right continue your present investigation, but I also you need to look into Himura-san joining us as well and find out if he will still be an asset.  I trust that you won’t allow your particular past with him to be an issue.”

The Lieutenant let a sarcastic smile play across his lips, “yes sir,” he replied.  _At least not for an investigation of him.  After that though…_


	9. Chivalry and Honor

**Chapter 8**

**Chivalry and Honor**

Goro Sando cowered back from the two thugs before him, “I-I don’t want any trouble,” he trembled.

“Then why are you shorting us the payment?” The first thug asked, he had scraggly hair and a long ugly scar running down the side of his face.  “You know what happens to those who try and cheat Lord Hoji out of his money.”

“I-I swear I didn’t do anything,” Goro stuttered, drawing back as far as he could from the two before him, his back hit the wall and he started feeling his way slowly to the side, trying to make his way to the door off to his side.  The two men followed his slow progress with a wide grin on their face, knowing full well that Goro stood no chance of escape from this isolated warehouse.

“That’s not the way we heard it,” the second thug snarled pleasantly, he had a lopsided look to his face and one eye that was clouded over. 

“I wasn’t trying to take a cut of the money, I would never steal from Lord Hoji, that would be foolish,” Goro protested, covered in a nervous sweat and praying he would be able to make it the ten yards to the door and escape the dark warehouse.

“Then what about this stash of gold we found at your place, and the people who say that your fencing the goods that Lord Hoji went through a lot of effort to acquire, all without giving him a cut of the profits?” Scar asked, holding up a large sack of gold that had been found in Goro’s one room hut.

Goro gulped, knowing that the men were about to make their move, in fear, Goro bolted but he was grabbed by the men and overpowered easily.  Within only a few minutes of hopeless struggle, Goro was bound and gagged before he was stuffed into a sack, carried and dumped in the bed of a wagon.  After riding for some unknown period of time over rough terrain, Goro was pulled out of the wagon and dragged for what seemed like hours until finally he was dropped out of the sack carelessly.  He landed in a heap on the floor of a well-lit and richly furnished chamber which strangely had no windows or any form of outside light.  Goro would normally have gaped at such rich surroundings but instead his whole focus was on the man sitting on a cushion before him.  Though he had never laid eyes on him before, Goro could only guess that the ordinary looking, middle-aged man in front of him who was richly clad in the European style had to be the infamous Sadokima Hoji, the King of the Underworld.

“We got the thief boss,” Scar bowed respectfully, kicking Goro a little.

“Very well,” Hoji responded sounding almost bored.  Goro was now shaking uncontrollably as Hoji survey him with disinterest.  “Under normal circumstances I would let my men torture and kill you for stealing from me, but an ‘acquaintance’ of mine needs someone to practice with and you will do quite nicely.”  Hoji turned his head slightly at the sound of a door opening behind Goro.  “Lord Shisho, you said that you wanted to test the sharpness of your blade, we have a volunteer for the honor.” Hoji welcomed the newcomer.

“Excellent,” a deep voice answered, a voice that made Goro’s blood run cold.

***

Kenshin blew into the flames that were crackling happily under the bathhouse before shutting the grate, satisfied that the coals he had built up would keep the water nice and warm for Kaoru who was socking after the events of the day.  Kenshin looked up at the sound of shuffling footsteps to see Yahiko stumbling out of the house, wrapped up in a blanket.

“Yahiko what are you doing out here?” Kenshin demanded, wiping his dirty hands on his kimono as he walked over to Yahiko.  “You should be in bed, that you should,” Kenshin scolded the boy mildly as he felt Yahiko’s forehead and cheeks to test his temperature. 

“I got hungry,” Yahiko moaned. 

Kenshin shook his head a little at the boy, “well you fever seems to have finally broken.  But you should still stay in the house.  Go inside and this one will bring you something.”

Yahiko shuffled back into the house and Kenshin hurried to the kitchen where he spooned up some soup.  Megumi had made it for them after they had gotten back from the tournament and seen to Kaoru’s injuries more closely before she and Doctor Gensei had to leave to get back to the clinic before dark.  Kenshin made his way back into the house by the light of the setting sun to find Yahiko waiting expectantly in the main room, his blanket still wrapped around himself.

Kenshin handed Yahiko the bowl and then blinked in surprise as Yahiko seemed to inhale the soup in a matter of moments, before holding the bowl out and asking for more.  Kenshin took the bowl and returned in a few minutes with the pot of soup in case Yahiko drained the second bowl as fast as he had the first.

“So what happened in the tournament?” Yahiko asked, taking the time to swallow with the second bowl.

“She forfeited,” Kenshin shrugged, “would you like some more Yahiko?”

“SHE WHAT!!!” 

Kenshin flinched and nearly knocked the pot over at the screaming in his ear as Yahiko threw off his blanket and half rose in shock at Kenshin’s words.  “WHAT WAS THAT CRAZY OLD TANUKI THINKING?!”

“Yahiko stop yelling!” Kenshin snapped, “You’re hurting this one’s ears.”  _I’m going to go deaf soon with all this screaming._

“Sorry Kenshin,” Yahiko apologized, “but seriously, why did Kaoru forfeit?  We needed her to win.”

Kenshin cleaned his ears out, wishing the ringing would go away, between the shouting of the crowds and Yahiko’s own contribution, Kenshin had his fill of loud noises for some time.  Yahiko was waiting with an inpatient look on his face for Kenshin to explain his comment.  Kenshin quickly filled the boy on the event of the first day of the tournament and how Kaoru’s ribs had been cracked then.  Kenshin moved right on to the events of the day right up to how she had broken Kouta’s blade.  Kenshin didn’t stop for Yahiko’s gapping mouth at that news and his feeble attempt to stop Kenshin and ask a question about the affair.  Instead, Kenshin pushed on to the end of the story where Doctor Gensei had examined Kaoru in the time before the final round and realized that while she had not actually broken her left hand in the semi-finals it was severely bruised and she had possibly sprained her wrist as well.

Kenshin finished the story by telling how Kaoru was to face the famed Master Mariya in the finals.   “Master Mariya was very kind after he had won his round and advanced to the finals, he came over to ask how Kaoru was doing before the finals started.  Apparently, they had spoken before that.  But it was what he did that made Kaoru decide to forfeit the round and allow Master Mariya to win the tournament.  He told her that he wouldn’t try and talk her out of fighting him since from what little he knew of the Kamiya’s his words would have no effect.  And he finished by saying ‘I only wish that you were at your full strength for I would be most delighted to test the Mujushin-ryu against the Kasshin-ryu.’  Because he treated her as an equal, Kaoru decided that she had nothing to prove to him so she didn’t fight, at least that’s how she explained it,” Kenshin explained.

“Poppycock, she was just being a girl,” Yahiko scoffed.  “She should have just walked it off and faced the guy.  This is what happens when your sensei’s a _girl_.”

 _There’s just no pleasing some people,_ Kenshin thought to himself.  He honestly had thought that Kaoru should have stepped out long before she had and then there was Yahiko who would have wanted her to go all the way despite the fact that by the end she could barely stand up right.

***

The day after the tournament Yahiko slowly dressed, he was still a little weak and shaky but he wasn’t going to let that slow him down today.  He made his way to the kitchen where Kenshin was finishing up making breakfast.

“Morning Yahiko,” Kenshin greeted, districted, as he tasted the miso soup to make sure it was seasoned right. 

“Where’s the tanuki this morning?” Yahiko asked grumpily, he had not yet seen Kaoru since he had gone back to bed before Kaoru was done with her bath.

Kenshin looked at Yahiko and shrugged, “still in her room this one imagines.”

“Ow, ow, ow, ow,” Kaoru moaned as she slowly shuffled into the kitchen, her left hand had turned an interesting shade of purple and she was standing stiffly erect to prevent from hurting her ribs anymore than they already were.

“Stop your wining, you didn’t even have the decency to lose, you just gave up like a wimp,” Yahiko snapped at Kaoru.

Kenshin’s eyes flew to Kaoru’s face in a flash of alarm, Kaoru’s face went completely white.  “LIKE A WHAT?” she demanded, grabbing Yahiko’s collar with her good hand, snarling in his face.

“Now, now, there’s no reason to kill each other before breakfast,” Kenshin cried, jumping forward and separating the two.  “Kaoru don’t move around so much, you’ll just hurt yourself.  And Yahiko don’t make this one have to teach you to keep a civil tongue in your mouth,” Kenshin warned.  “Kaoru-dono did her best, leave her alone.”

“Well if we end up on the streets I’m still blaming her,” Yahiko muttered.

“What was that?” Kaoru’s eyes flashing dangerously.

“Breakfast,” Kenshin stepped in, slapping down bowls full of soup in front of both of them. 

Kenshin made sure that neither had so much as an opportunity to continue their fight, cutting them off the moment either of them opened their mouth to say a word.

Yahiko helped with cleaning up after breakfast with Kenshin urging Kaoru to just stay where she was, and as much as it hurt to move Kaoru actually listened to Kenshin for once without even an attempt to protest.

Once the dishes had been cleaned Yahiko turned to Kaoru with a haughty expression, “so you think you can give me a lesson this morning or would you rather us wait on your highness hand and foot?”

“Oh I’ll give you a lesson all right,” Kaoru snapped back, getting to her feet with a winch.

“Kaoru-dono…” Kenshin started.

“Oh Kenshin didn’t you hear the boy?” Kaoru interrupted.  “He’s asking his sensei for a lesson, I’m obliged to give him one.”  Kaoru said with an ominous note in her tone before sweeping out of the kitchen towards the dojo, Yahiko following a step behind.

Kenshin ran a hand through his hair with a sigh, _I don’t get paid enough to put up with this._   With a mental groan he followed the two, knowing that if he wasn’t there they may very well kill each other with how angry they were.  When he walked into the dojo he was as surprised as Kaoru and Yahiko to see two boys of about of nine and thirteen waiting for them with a man who had to be their father.

“You’re Master Kamiya right?” the father asked, stepping towards Kaoru.  “My son’s here saw you in the tournament and now want to enroll in your school here.”

Kaoru’s eyes opened for a moment in surprise, not sure if she was hallucinating or not.  “Of course, we can discuss the particulars now if you’d like,” Kaoru offered, a happy smile crossing her face.  _Maybe I did better than I thought,_ she thought as she mentally calculated what two students would add to the school’s meager income.

Yahiko grinned a little as he recognized the older boy, Susuma, as one of the one’s he had invited to join the school.  _Good thing the old tanuki has me around,_ he ginned to himself, _or we really would have to live on the streets._

_***_

It was a couple of weeks later in the heat of August that Kaoru was looking around the dojo in pride.  Ever since the end of the tournament, students had been trickling in ones and twos and now there was a long row of students lined up before class.  At the head of the line always stood Yahiko, the senior apprentice, the rest always stood in the order they arrived as they were still considered the same rank for the moment.  Kaoru ran her eyes down the line as the students practiced their swings and blocks to her commands, looking for any mistakes that needed correcting as she walked up and down the lines.  Susuma Sekiguchi’s work was nearly flawless, Kaoru hardly glanced at the boy, moving straight to his younger brother, Naoki Sekiguchi who always gave his lessons his all but who frequently needed gentle correcting as he often tripped over his feet that seemed twice as big as he was.  Kaoru gently pushed the boy’s feet into the correct stance with a gentle tap on Nakoi’s legs with her bokken and the boy’s face blanched slightly when he realized he had his feet turned the wrong way.  He glanced quickly at his brother’s stance and shifted his own feet to mimic his brother’s.  Kaoru moved onto another student once the problem had been corrected, Kohaku Hada and Sho Kono needed only a shift of their grip on their shinai’s or a gentle remainder to stand up straight. 

Kaoru paused for a moment on Akio, the boy had entered the dojo with yet another set of injuries. In his short-sleeved kimono due to the heat of the day, Kaoru could see that the boy’s face and arms were a mix of fresh and half healed bruises.  Kaoru had been watching the boy carefully, trying to decide if the injuries were happening inside the home or outside of it, the answer to that question decided how she would deal with the situation. 

She had tried to subtly ask Akio the answer to that question and from what she had gathered from the boy the problem wasn’t inside the home.  Kaoru figured from the way the boy hide the truth from everyone that he was probably dealing with a gang of bullies.  She had seen that same signs before, it was initially how she had made gotten to know her childhood friends, she had a problem with some boy’s giving her a hard time whenever she walked from the dojo to Dr Gensei’s clinic.   Yasu, Shichiro, Jiro, and the others had seen one such confrontation take place and had stepped in.  That was how they ended up becoming such close friends with her.

Kaoru pursed her lips while she kept calling out another command.  She kept one eye on Akio while she glanced down the rest of the line to her other students.  She apprised Jurou Matsuno, Takehiko Eguchi, Hayate Kaneshiro, and Yoshirou Ida and decided that they weren’t doing anything outright wrong. 

“Enough of that, time to learn a new form!” Kaoru announced.  The boy’s stopped quickly, glad of the break and Kaoru instructed them to turn and fix their kimonos, giving them a second to catch their breath before turning back to the front of the dojo where Kaoru had taken her place again.  “It’s time to practice some exercises, first a simple blade catch,” Kaoru informed the students.  She pretended to scan the line for the student to demonstrate with, while in truth she already had a candidate in mind, it was the student she picked the most often.  “Akio step forward,” Kaoru ordered.

The boy scowled a little to himself, he almost went out of his way to stay obtuse in the school, doing his best to always be in the back line out of her sight, trying to stand behind the taller boys, but none of that stopped Kaoru from trying to draw the boy out during lessons.  Kaoru also knew he resented her for that, thinking that she was drawing him out to embarrass him and he put up with it mainly because he realized that Kaoru was letting him get away with lessons at the dojo for a scant basketful of eggs a week from the few chickens he called his own.  No other dojo master in town would take so frugal a payment in returned for their services.  In truth, Kaoru wasn’t trying to embarrass the boy, instead she was trying to give him the up close knowledge as to how each exercise was performed by a master. 

Kaoru first had Akio swing his shinai at her and she caught the blade between her bare hands before she stepped to the side twisting her body to direct a sidekick at Akio’s chest, slowly and stopping her foot before she so much as brushed the boy.  After showing everyone several times slowly, explaining what she was doing each time she broke the boys up into groups to practice in groups of two.  For the rest of the lessons, Kaoru would show them a set of moves to make simple flowing forms that the boy’s would practice in small groups.

Finally, Kaoru called an end to the lessons and they ended with the traditional set of bows to her and to the shrine at the front.  The students thanked her for her time before they replaced their weapons, gathered their things and left as most of them had chores at home or other work that needed to be seen to after lessons.  But Kaoru knew that before the end of the day most would make their way back to the dojo to get some more practice in before the next day’s lesson and to make sure the dojo was kept spotlessly clean. 

Yahiko hung around and Kaoru kept an eye on the boy as she walked to the doors to close them.  She noticed that the moment the other boys had gone, Yahiko lost his good humor and now looked depressed about something.  Kaoru decided to confront the boy about it.

“Hey Yahiko, aren’t you going to spend some time with your friends today?” Kaoru asked slyly, knowing that after most lessons Yahiko liked to join the other students for some activity if they were free, unless he had to report to the Akebeko for work.

“Naw, I don’t really feel like it today,” Yahiko replied.

“Everything all right Yahiko?” Kaoru asked after closing the doors and she turned to face Yahiko.

“Nothing I’m fine okay?” Yahiko retorted defensively.

“So why are you still here?” Kaoru prodded.

“I was just going to spend some more time practicing that’s all.”

Kaori’s lips twisted into a half smile, she had a flash of inspiration about what was brothering the boy.  _Ever since I got new students every lesson with Yahiko has been during formal lesson times and we’re still covering the basics with them that Yahiko’s already mastered.  Besides he has to be on his best behavior during those lessons, no time for the horsing around that he always used to do when it was just the two with us._

“Well if you just want to practice then fine, I was going to give you a private lesson since you’re a little more advanced than the others but since you obviously want to be alone then I’ll see you at lunch, don’t work too hard, you still have your chores to do.”  Kaoru walked towards the backdoor with a wave of her hand.

“Wait Kaoru!”

Kaoru paused, this was the reaction that she had been waiting for, she pivoted on her heel to give Yahiko a quizzical look.

Yahiko bit his lip and looked away, embarrassed by what he was about to ask, he had missed having Kaoru all to himself during lessons but he hadn’t wanted to tell her that.  “If you wanted to give me a private lesson and all I wouldn’t mind.”

Kaoru quirked a brow at him, pleased that she had read Yahiko’s mood so well, “are you sure?  I know how much you prefer to practice on your own without someone watching you.”

“Just give me the lesson already you old tanuki!” Yahiko fumed.

Kaoru’s took a breath with a hissing sound, Yahiko’s tone causing the hackles on the back of her neck to rise, “fine I’ll give you a lesson,” Kaoru almost growled, _yep just like old times all right._

_***_

Akio was making his way to the market carrying the shopping that his mother had asked him to pick up for her while in town with his father.  He had gotten everything his father had instructed him to, and he was rushing to get them back home before he went to his lessons.  Akio hurried with quick feet, hoping the gang of bullies wouldn’t catch him.

He glanced up and down the street keeping an eye out for any of the members of the gang and breathed a sigh of relief when he didn’t see a sign of them on the street as the crowds started to clear out as he made his way through the less populated parts of town on his way home.  _Must be off harassing someone else,_ Akio thought in relief, _almost out of town and then I won’t have to keep looking over my shoulder._

Akio turned a corner so fast that he ran straight into the back of someone on the other side and he stumbled back a few steps, “hey sorr-” Akio cut off when he realized the person he had run into was the leader of the gang.

“Oh look it’s the wimp,” the leader sneered.  “What’s wrong, aren’t you going to finish that apology?”

Akio gulped as the other members of the gang jumped off the crates they had been sitting on and started stalking towards him.  Akio clenched the basket of shopping to his chest, he knew he didn’t stand a chance and out of instinct he turned and started running, the sound of the leader urging the others to chase after him echoed behind him and Akio started turning corners as fast as he could, trying to lose his pursuers.

Akio kept running until he was lost in the maze of streets and alleys that made up the residential part of Tokyo, finally making a wrong turn and finding himself in a dead-end alley.  Akio skidded to a halt, panting and started to turn around to get out of the alley but found his way blocked by the gang who had caught up with him, an evil gleam in their eyes after the chase.

“Hey boys, this punk is being very rude, we ought to teach him a lesson shouldn’t we?” the leader sneered and his followers laughed wickedly as they started to close in on Akio.

Akio watched the gang closing in and he fought back against his rising panic, _stay calm, stay calm, remember what Kaoru-sensei has been teaching you, this is exactly why you’ve been going there,_ Akio told himself firmly. 

 _“All right class, despite what you may have heard from other disciplines, Kamiya Kasshin has a slightly different philosophy because of the respect for life.  First of all, when you are fighting to protect someone else than if you lose it means both you_ and _the person you’ve defending lose, so losing isn’t really an option.  But when you are attacked things are different, an attacker’s only obligation is to win, but your obligation is simpler, it is only to survive.  Sometimes that is through winning the fight, and sometimes it is by simply getting away.”_   Aki could hear Kaoru’s calm voice repeating one of the lessons she had given the boy’s weeks before.  _All I have to do is get away from these guys, I don’t have to win, just get away,_ Akio thought desperately, trying to come up with a plan.

“So loser, what’s in the basket then?  You bring your pals a gift?” the leader sneered, they were slowly closing the distance now that Akio had managed to back himself up against the wall.

Akio had all but forgotten the basket in his hands that he held defensively in front of himself, “it’s not yours, and you’re not going to take it from me!” Akio yelled with far more defiance than he felt, he dropped the basket at his feet and took up a fighting stance, clenching his hands into fists.

“Hey look, the whimp wants to play with us,” one of the boy’s sneered.  “You want to play with my new toy as well?”  The boy pulled a tanto out of his sleeve and drew the blade, pointing the weapon at Akio.

 _When did weapons become a part of this?_   Akio wondered in horror as the boy charged forward, the rest of the gang staying back and laughing, sure that Akio would be cut up badly by their friend.

 _“Remember your blade catching from last week?  Well today we’re going to try a variation of it,_ _specifically when dealing with a shorter weapon like a tanto,_ ” Kaoru’s voice sounded once again in Akio’s head and in the split second that he had to think he made his decision of what to do.

As the weapon swung towards Akio, he stepped out of the way, away from the hand that held the blade, grabbing the other arm of the boy with one hand, keeping his other hand free in case the boy turned his weapon towards him again.  Akio used the boy’s own charge against him as he used all of his strength to ram the boy straight into the wall.  The boy hit the wall with a thud and collapsed to the ground, senseless.  Akio faced the rest of the gang with fresh confidence, “just let me go and we can end this here,” Akio advised them, a little more confident now that he had managed to take down one of them by himself.  _Maybe I can do this,_ he thought with a little pride.

“Oh now I remember, you were supposed to be taking some sword lesson at some stupid little school right?” the leader laughed.  “Oh please, you think _you’re_ going to scare us?” the leader sneered and he and the rest of the gang pulled out their own tantos and Akio now found himself facing five armed opponents. 

 _And then again maybe I can’t,_ Akio thought with a gulp of fear.  _I got lucky on the first one, I’m not sure my luck is going to hold out, I may end up dying here._

“Hey, you with the bad complexion, let our friend go or you’ll have us to answer too!” a shout came from the end of the alley and the gang and Akio glanced up to see that Susuma and Hayate were now standing in the mouth of the ally.  Takehiko appeared a moment later giving the others small bamboo canes from somewhere that they took and held like shinai at the gang.

“You want to insult the Kamiya dojo you have to face us first,” a new voice challenged and Yahiko came skidding into the mouth of the alley to join the others. 

“Who the hell are you people?” one of the members of the gang asked of the newcomers.

“I’m Yahiko Myojin, first apprentice of Kaymia Kasshin-ryu and this is Susuma Sekiguchi, Hayate Kaneshiro, and Takehiko Eguchi, also apprentices.”  Yahiko answered.

“You fools made a mistake to mess with our friend, after all, five against one isn’t really fair, don’t you guys have any honor?” Susuma scoffed.

“Nice job on that other guy Akio, looks like he’ll be down for a bit,” Hayate congratulated when he saw the kid Akio had managed to knock out.

“Thanks!” Akio beamed at his friends, their appearance was more than timely, and very appreciated.

“Get these guys!” The leader ordered, annoyed with the interruption.

***

Kaoru kept glancing at the door to the dojo, wondering where the rest of her students, including Yahiko were.  They were more than half an hour late and lessons were starting to wind down.  She could tell that she wasn’t the only wondering where the others were judging by the way the boy’s kept glancing to the door as well.

Just a few minutes before Kaoru was about to end the class and send Kenshin out to find wherever Yahiko had gotten off to, hoping that he was skipping out on lessons again and getting some of the other students to follow suit and not something more serious, when Yahiko, Susuma, Takehiko, Hayate and Akio came skidding into the dojo.  There was a pause when they realized how late they were and after a quick glance at the others they bowed towards Kaoru.

“Sorry to be so late sensei,” they intoned towards her before they shuffled forward to join the others who had split up into groups to practice their techniques, grabbing some shinais from the wall, Akio dropped a basket of shopping by the benches before he joined the others.

Kaoru pursed her lips at their appearance and with a mental sigh she called for all of them to step forward.  Obediently they came forward to stand in a line and Kaoru looked up and down the line sternly taking in every cut, bruise, and torn and dirtied piece of clothing.

Kenshin came in from the backdoor to see if Yahiko had made it to lessons yet as he hadn’t seen him at the start, he took one look at Yahiko and the others, then to Kaoru’s face, before he slid the door shut and decided that Yahiko was on his own.

“I assume you have a good reason to be so late, and for the way you look,” Kaoru started.

“Oh yes sensei,” Hayate piped up, “you see while we were on our way here we met a couple of other boys who were interested in the Kamiya style and they stopped us for a bit to discuss it with them.”

Kaoru glanced at the cut down the side of Takehiko’s arm, “and did this discussion involve blades by chance?”

“Well you know how it is Kaoru-sensei,” Yahiko spoke up, having little fear of Kaoru’s anger since he was so often on the receiving end of it.  “It started out as a talk and then they insisted on demonstration, and one thing just led to another.”

“I see and what did they think of your ‘demonstration’?” Kaoru asked, a special emphasizes on demonstration.  She wasn’t stupid and could see what was going on, but she figured from the way that Akio was holding himself, with a newfound sense of confidence, that the others had simply stepped into to help with the problem that they boy had been having.

“Well they didn’t have a high opinion at first but I think we managed to change their mind about that sensei,” Akio replied proudly.

“I see,” Kaoru mused, “all right, well you’re all still late so you’re going to stay behind after lessons and clean the dojo from top to bottom for the next week and no other student is to help you during that time.”

“Yes sensei,” they bowed, accepting their punishment without protest, Yahiko thought they got off pretty easy considering.

“And one more thing,” Kaoru cut in before the boys could think about joining the others who were watching in a mix of amusement and longing that they had also been able to help with the ‘demonstration’.  “I wouldn’t play with those other boys again, you may end up getting yourselves in trouble.”  Kaoru warned.

“I don’t think that’ll be a problem sensei,” Takehiko grinned happily.

***

 “Hey Mom I’m back, sorry it took so long to get this to you but I had to go to my lessons and sensei asked me and some others to help clean the dojo afterwards.” Akio explained as he set the basket down next to where his mother was crouched next to the kitchen fire set into the floor of the hut. 

“Akio what happened to you, was it those bullies again?” his mother cried, taking one look at his busted lip and the bruise on his cheek.

“Yeah, but you don’t need to worry about them anymore,” Akio replied happily.  “Some friends from school showed up and we stood up against those guys, and we already told them that if they bother anyone of us again then they’ll have all of us to answer too.  And some of the other boys at the school will probably join in as well.  So I don’t think they’re going to bother me again.”

“I don’t really like you getting into all these fights,” his mother scolded as she wet a cloth and held it up to Akio’s face.

Akio never lost his proud grin as he remembered how the leader of the gang had even started to cry like a girl when Takehiko had hit him in the groin and caused him to collapse to the ground in pain.  “I don’t think that’ll be a problem Mom, but for your sake I’ll try to avoid the situation next time,” he promised.


	10. The Disastrous Surprise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now we are starting the next section where we are going to be going more into those robberies I've been hinting about so far, and learning more about the Sekihoutai.

**Part 2: The Revival of the Sekihoutai**

**Chapter 9**

**The Disastrous Surprise**

_They stood on an overhang looking over the road below, Sanosuke and Captain Sagara. Sanosuke had been hanging onto every word the Captain had been telling him about the building of a new world.  Captain Sagara laughed at Sanosuke when he claimed that with the new era he was going to take the family name of Sagara even though the Captain had teased him, saying that it sounded goofy._

_Suddenly a horseman rode up and stopped in front of the Captain._

_“I take it you are the Captain of Sekihoutai Troop One are you not?”  The houseman asked in an imperious tone._

_“I am, identify yourself.” The Captain ordered._

_“I am Tatewaki Shindou, Staff Officer of the Government Army.  I have come from headquarters in Shimosawa to give you orders directly from the Government General.”_

_“From the Government General?” the Captain asked in shock._

_“Hey Captain?” Sanosuke looked at his Captain’s face in worry, sensing that something was wrong…_  

Sanosuke sat bolt upright, _what the hell?_ He thought, feeling that the moment he had dreamt about had been the warning before the storm.  _I hope that wasn’t some kind of omen or something…_  

***

Kaoru was enjoying the afternoon, Tae had gotten tired of being cooped up in the house all the time and so she had invited several of her close friends over for tea.  She had tried to get Megumi to come but Megumi had sent a note that she would be busy at the clinic for the day and would be unable to make it.  So there was only Kaoru, Tae, Tami, and Mariko.  They had all been in dance classes years before but Kaoru had never been especially close to Tami and Mariko. 

The conversation passed pleasantly, with everyone informing the others about the latest developments in their life, trends in fashion, the latest gossip.  Eventually the other woman started talking about their husbands and families and Kaoru felt just slightly left out, mainly nodding in the right places until the conversation was suddenly directed at her. 

“Don’t you think that it’s about time you settle down Kaoru-san?  Your looks won’t last forever you know,” Mariko pointed out, directing the conversation to Kaoru who had been silent for the last twenty minutes.

“Umm…” Kaoru sputtered, feeling on the spot.

“Actually she’s working on that, aren’t you Kaoru?” Tae teased, giving her a slight nudge with her shoulder before Tae turned to the other woman and in a conspiratorial whisper said, “she’s been walking out with Kenshin Himura for awhile now, I’ve told you about him haven’t I?  She’s even been coming over for cooking lessons from me so she can cook him a good meal for his birthday tomorrow,” Tae laughed.

“Isn’t he the one who’s bordering with you Kaoru-san?” Tami asked with her head tipped.

“Uhh yes, Kenshin’s been living with me for about 7 months now or so,” Kaoru confirmed.  “But we only been going out for about a month.”

“So what does he do?” Mariko asked in interest, she was always intrigued by the latest going-ons, one of the reasons she was such close friends with Tae, she was always assured of getting the very latest gossip.

“Mainly just helps around the dojo with various tasks,” Kaoru shrugged.

“He doesn’t have a job?  How on earth does he pay for his boarding then?” Mariko asked in surprise.

“He doesn’t, I’ve never made him pay for his bordering,” Kaoru defended.

“You have a border that doesn’t pay?” Mariko replied in puzzlement.  “You do the strangest things Kaoru.”

“Where is he from?” Tami asked in curiosity.

Kaoru blinked wide eyes at her, “originally?  I’m not sure.” She shook her head.

“Does he have any family?” Mariko questioned.

“I-I don’t know,” Kaoru replied, feeling as though she was under integration.

“Kaoru hasn’t committed a crime you two,” Tae laughed, trying to take the pressure off Kaoru.

“So you’ve had this man living in your home for 7 months and you don’t know anything about him?  Is Kenshin Himura even his real name?” Mariko continued, ignoring Tae. She was far too intrigued by the topic to be distracted so easily.

Kaoru gulped hard, a tight knot forming in her chest, the worst part wasn’t she couldn’t be sure if Kenshin was his real name.  She knew that he had gone under the name of Hitokiri Battosai during the war to protect his identity but she didn’t know if Kenshin Himura was another name that had been made up to further protect his real identity.  “Despite what you may think I do know a lot about Kenshin,” Kaoru protested, ignoring the original question.  “He’s just been through a lot of tragedy in his life and doesn’t want to talk about it, is that so wrong?”

“I can’t believe that you would let someone that you know so little about stay for free at your home for so long, let alone develop a romantic relationship with him,” Mariko shrugged.  “You really are something else Kaoru-san you know that?”

Tae quickly stepped in, sensing how the conversation was upsetting Kaoru and immediately changed the topic, directing questions towards Mariko about her son’s upcoming birthday and what their plans for it were.  By the time tea was over and Kaoru made her way home she was fuming, she hated that she had been assaulted with all those questions at Tae’s, and she hated the fact that they were right.  Even the sounds of her students practicing after lessons in the dojo, a sound that normally brought a smile to her face since her dojo was once again a busy place, change nothing of her mood.  The more she thought about it the more she realized how little she really knew about Kenshin’s past.  She knew that he had been the Battosai during the war, and that part of his life she was willing to stay in the dark.  She didn’t need to know the details, the facts that were already known about the Battosai was more than enough for her. 

 _But Mariko had a point,_ Kaoru thought bitterly as she started washing rice for dinner after she set down the small barrel of foodstuffs for Kenshin’s party in one corner of the kitchen out of the way.  _I know practically nothing about Kenshin’s life before the war.  All I know was that his father was a farmer and at some point he received training in kenjutsu, and that his Master is a little on the sadistic side._  Kaoru thought as she remembered the one story Kenshin had told about that time where his Master had thrown him to a group of wolves to see if he could handle himself fighting a group.  _And then what about after that?_   Kaoru wondered.  _All I know is that he’s been wandering Japan.  What has he been doing?  Helping people surely, but why does he never talk about it?_

“Hey Kaoru can I-?” Yahiko asked as he bounded into the kitchen.

“No,” Kaoru retorted, not even waiting to hear the question.

“But you haven’t even-” Yahiko started to protest.

“If you have to ask it’s no!” Kaoru snapped.

Yahiko turned with wide eyes and left the kitchen going straight into the house to where Kenshin was folding laundry.  “Kenshin we have a problem, Kaoru’s acting like a girl again, can you handle it?”

Kenshin looked up at Yahiko’s face and rolled his eyes, “what did you do to make her mad this time Yahiko?”

“Nothing I swear, she barely even let me get a word out before she was biting my head off,” Yahiko protested.  “It’s weird, she’s usually in such a good mood after spending time with Tae but something has her pissed.”

Kenshin sighed, sadly he was getting used to being the figurative human shield for Yahiko and Sanosuke (and sometimes not figuratively in Sanosuke’s case) when Kaoru was upset.  For some reason they thought that no matter what the problem was they were sure that Kenshin could handle it.  Kenshin thought they were overestimating whatever calming influence he might have on her, but he, unlike them, was at least was willing to try, unless Kaoru seem as though she was in a murderous mood, then he would run with the rest of them.

“Kaoru-dono,” Kenshin asked after he had gone to the kitchen.  “Yahiko says you’re upset, is something wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong,” Kaoru replied in a downtrodden voice.

Kenshin made a face and stepped up next to Kaoru, starting to help her in the dinner preparations.  “Kaoru-dono if you don’t tell this one what’s wrong I’ll just keep asking until I annoy you enough to say, that I will.”

Kaoru glared at him from the corner of her eye, “it’s nothing.”

“Kaoru-dono,” Kenshin protested.  “Please, this one is just trying to help.”

“Really, Kenshin it’s not that important,” Kaoru tried to protest in frustration.

“If that was true then you wouldn’t be so upset,” Kenshin pointed out.

“You really are annoying Kenshin, have you been taking lessons from Yahiko in that?” Kaoru asked bitterly.

“You’re still avoiding the question, what’s made you so upset?  Did you have a fight with Tae-dono or something?”

“No I didn’t have a fight with Tae per say.”

“Would you care to explain that?”

“Will you care to leave me alone?”

“Not until you tell this one what’s going on.”

“Will it get you to leave me alone?”

“Perhaps.”

Kaoru groaned, “I really would rather not talk about this,” she pleaded.

“Well I would, so what is it?” Kenshin stated.  He knew by this point that they only way to get Kaoru to open up to him about things that she didn’t really want to talk about was to annoy her until she finally got mad enough to tell. 

“It was more what some friends of Tae said,” Kaoru explained.  “They started asking some questions and I couldn’t answer them.”

“Questions about what?”

“It’s not important.”

“Kaoru-dono.”

Kaoru rolled her eyes, slapping down the vegetables in her hands in frustration.  She turned to Kenshin with pursed lips and Kenshin met her gaze, unwilling to back down.  “Fine they were asking about you, happy now?”  Kaoru turned back to peeling the vegetables.

“What kind of questions about this one?”  Kenshin asked in curiosity, wondering what a group of women, most of whom he hadn’t even met, would ask about him.

“Just little things, it’s not important.”

“If you don’t ask them how can this one answer them?” Kenshin asked with a tip of his head.

“But I’ve told you before that your past doesn’t matter to me,” Kaoru reminded him.  “That’s why I won’t ask you about it.”

Kenshin gave her an odd look, “what does how you feel about this one’s past have to do with asking about it?”

Kaoru bit her lip, she had just been given an open invitation to ask whatever she wanted to know about Kenshin and there were questions she had been dying to ask for months.  She thought it best to stay away from anything about the war, she knew enough about Kenshin’s part in that already.  She decided to try sticking to topics that she deemed would probably be safe ones.  “Where are you from?” she blurted out.  “I mean originally?”

“I was born in a small village on the east coast of Japan, I don’t remember its name anymore but I grew up near the village of Kameoka when I was living with Master.”  Kenshin replied, promptly sitting on the edge of the wooden floor, his feet dangling down to the earthen part of the floor, fully prepared to sit there as long as needed to answer Kaoru’s questions.

“Do you have any family?”

“Not anymore,” Kenshin answered calmly.  “This one’s family died when I was young, around 6 or so I think.”

Embolden with Kenshin answering her questions thus far, Kaoru decided to ask something more personal.  “If you don’t mind me asking, how did they die?  You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to,” Kaoru assured him in a rush.

Kenshin gave her a look, _she is really being overly sensitive about this,_ Kenshin had no problems talking about this part of his past, he had long ago dealt with any ill feelings towards it.  “Cholera, the village was hit hard with it, it killed this one’s parents and brothers and sisters, I got it as well but managed to survive, I was taken in by one of the other families in the village and they sold this one into slavery not long after that.”

Kaoru completely forgot about the dinner preparations, “why did they do that?”

Kenshin shrugged, “once they learned that I was from a secret Christian family they wanted to get rid of this one before they were accused of hoarding a Christian, or worse of being Christians themselves and hence killed.  And least they were kind enough not to denounce this one outright.”

“You’re a Christian?” Kaoru asked breathlessly.

Kenshin gave her a little half smile, “not really, I remember so little of it.  This one doesn’t really consider himself of any religion anymore.”

“Did your Master ever know what you were?  I mean that you had been raised as a Christian?”

Kenshin leaned back, putting his hands behind himself to support him. “He knew, and when the investigation was performed looking for Christians, Master protected this one, said that I wasn’t a Christian.”

“So he lied to protect you?”

“You could say that, his excuse was that they were looking for a whole Christian, I only counted as a half of a Christian because I was so little,” Kenshin told her with a laugh. 

Kaoru sat down on the floor next to Kenshin, “so how did the son of a Christian farmer sold into slavery become a samurai?” she asked, enthralled with the story.  _So that’s why he knows so few stories and games that most children learn,_ Kaoru thought with a twinge of pity.  _He really didn’t have a childhood.  And why he hides so much about himself, being raised as a Christian there was probably a lot of things he was taught to hide from others.  He might not even think doing so is odd._

“It was a couple of days after I joined the slavers that the cavern was attacked by bandits,” Kenshin continued his story.  “Three young women who had taken this one under their wing, died trying to keep the bandits away from this one.  Then Master came, he killed the bandits, tried to see that this one got to the village all right but I wasn’t really in a trusting mood by that point.  After he had gone I had nothing left so I buried the bodies of the dead.  Master came back the next day, intending to do that himself, and then he took this one as his apprentice.  To those in power he stated merely that he had adopted this one as a son so there was no question about this one being a samurai and therefore being allowed to carry a sword,” Kenshin finished with a slight smile, _is this all she wanted to know?  Why didn’t she just ask before?_   Kenshin laughed a little to himself about how careful Kaoru had been not to ask anything that would upset him.   

Kaoru glanced down, “I’m sorry I’m asking all these questions Kenshin.  I don’t want to make you suffer by reliving bad memories.”

Kenshin shook his head, “I don’t think you understand Kaoru-dono, I don’t want to keep secrets from you.  There are things that may take this one some to time to tell you but they will be told, no matter how painful,” Kenshin explained earnestly.  “Now is there anything else you’d like to know?” he asked with a cheerful smile.

Kaoru quirked a smile back at him, “what’s your favorite color?”

“Sea foam green,” Kenshin responded without missing a beat.

Kaoru tilted her head at him in surprise, “that was oddly specific.”

“This one is sorry, did you just want a general color range?” Kenshin teased back.

***

 “Kenshin Himura what do you think you’re doing?!”

Kenshin stiffened suddenly from where he was crouched on the floor of the kitchen, cloth in one hand and dish in the other.  He turned his eyes towards Kaoru in the doorway who was glaring at him with her hands on her hips.  Yahiko grabbed the last couple of ume’s out of the jar while no one was watching and slowly sneaked out of the kitchen before Kaoru got mad at him too. 

Kenshin glanced to the rag and dish in his hand, then to the half barrel of water at his feet, before he looked back to Kaoru.  “Dishes?” he responded softly.

Kaoru stomped over and grabbed the rag and dish out of Kenshin’s hand, “oh no you don’t Kenshin,” she scolded.  “It’s your birthday, I told you that you’re not going to do any work today, so stop sneaking behind my back and doing chores already!  Yahiko can cover your work today.  Yahiko don’t think I don’t know you’re out there!” Kaoru yelled and Yahiko walked back into the kitchen shamefaced, knowing that he was now going to be stuck with dish duty. 

“Kaoru-dono I really don’t mind helping,” Kenshin insisted as he stood up, trying to reason with Kaoru.  “Wouldn’t you like some help with dinner at least?”

“Oh no Kenshin,” Kaoru shook her head with a little smile.  “I’ve got a surprise for tonight, something special I’ve been working on making with Tae.”

“Really, you’re going to try serving us real food for a change?” Yahiko piped up.

Kaoru turned her head slowly to deliver a death glare at Yahiko.  Kenshin decided to be more diplomatic about it, “what are we having then?”

Kaoru slowly turned back to Kenshin, the secretive smile spreading over her face once again, “okay I’ll give you a quick peek at something special.”  Kaoru hurried over to a little barrel she had brought back from town the day before, after her visit with Tae.  She opened the top of the barrel to show Kenshin and Yahiko, who overcome with curiosity, had come to see the sight as well.

“Is that really?” Yahiko asked, his eyes lightening up with delight.

“Polished rice!” Kenshin identified with a big grin, “it’s been a very long time since this one has had it.”  _Like almost ten years._

Kaoru replaced the lid with a little laugh, hiding the perfectly white grains of rice from view, just enough to feed four for dinner.  “That’s right, I made a big spurge for this, but I think we all deserve a little treat.”

“I’ve never had polished rice before, this is going to be great!” Yahiko exclaimed.

“You didn’t really have to Kaoru-dono this one doesn’t…” Kenshin started.

“Nonsense, Kenshin,” Kaoru cut him off.  “Now you sit and relax for the rest of the day, Yahiko finish the dishes, and just leave dinner to me.”

***

No matter how hard Sanosuke tried he couldn’t shack off the feeling that he had had since his dream about Captain Sagara the night before.  There was some instinct telling him that something was going to happen soon, like the tense feeling in the air the moment before the storm broke in all of its fury.  Sanosuke had been wandering around town for most of the afternoon since he had woken up with no clear direction in mind.  Finally, he realized that it was getting on towards dinnertime and he already had plans for the evening.  He started making his way towards the Kamiya dojo, putting on a big grin to hide his black thoughts, reminding himself that he needed to be cheerful since today was Kenshin’s birthday and Kaoru was having a little party for it. 

He passed by the dojo that was filled with the sounds of shinais cracking on one another and boy’s cheerful shouting as they practiced their forms and did a little light sparing with the others.  It only took a peek inside the dojo to assure him that Kaoru and the others weren’t in there except for Yahiko who gave him a quick grin before he went back to his sparring match with one of the other boys. 

Sanosuke made his way around the dojo, heading straight for the kitchen.  He strolled in, quite at home as Kaoru was busy preparing dinner. 

“Hey Missy, so what’s for dinner?” Sanosuke asked, walking up behind Kaoru to peek into one of the pots.

“Out now!” Kaoru ordered, emphasizing that order as she turned and smacked her wooden spatula against the back of Sanosuke’s hand, forcing him to drop the lid of the pot with a yelp.

“Hey that’s a little uncalled for,” Sanosuke moaned, rubbing his wounded hand.

“I’m busy making dinner and I want everything to be perfect and I don’t need you distracting me!” Kaoru fumed.

“Missy you could have not one distraction in the world and still manage to mess something up,” Sanosuke pointed out.

Fortunately, for Sanosuke, Kenshin chose that moment to step into the kitchen, having heard his friend’s voice.  “Sano, there you are,” Kenshin greeted before he caught the mood with a quick glance between the two.  “Sano come with this one,” Kenshin ordered.

“Good idea,” Sanosuke responded as he practically fled the kitchen on Kenshin’s heels.  “Sheesh, she’s in a mood isn’t she?”

Kenshin shook his head with a little smile, “she wants to make a good dinner that she does, she even bought polished rice, that she did.”

“No shit!”  Sanosuke piped up.  “Glad I’m invited, polished rice is reason enough to chance the Missy’s temper.”  A shirk of surprise echoed from the kitchen and both men stopped dead in their tracks.  “Why do I have the sudden feeling that dinner just got ruined?” Sanosuke wondered aloud.

“Let’s not think about it,” Kenshin suggested mildly.  Since it was such a hot afternoon, the men settled on the back porch and talked about the current news, mainly on the long string of robberies that had been taking place for over a month.

“So they even hit the paper merchant Takenaka and stole all the art work that he had been collecting,” Sanosuke related to Kenshin.  “Apparently the guy had collected a lot of priceless pieces, but the one everyone was talking about was the screen painting by some Kakunoshi or something like that.”

Kenshin sat up a little straighter, “do you mean Kakunoshin Ni’itsu?”

Sanosuke looked at Kenshin in surprise, “I think that’s who they say, why do you ask?”

“Hey what are you guys talking about?” Yahiko asked, pushing back one of the sliding doors and joining the two on the porch.

“I was just filling Kenshin in on one of the latest robberies.” Sanosuke explained to the boy.

“Did they say which screen painting it was?” Kenshin persisted, not allowing the arrival of Yahiko to throw him off topic. 

Sanosuke didn’t understand Kenshin sudden passion on the subject, he knew that while Kenshin may have extensive knowledge of history (mainly about wars, politics, and the history of martial arts), as well as current affairs (again mainly detailed knowledge of war figures and current politics), he knew frightening little about the gentler arts.  Even Sanosuke had been surprised to find out that Kenshin had almost no knowledge of music, origami, or poetry.  Even to the extent that he had thought Basho, one of the great poets, was the man who helped at the vegetable stand.

“I think they said something about cranes,” Sanosuke shrugged, “I didn’t get details, sorry.”

“Oh,” Kenshin’s face fell as he thought about it, “well if it had cranes then it must be ‘The Water’s Edge’, I’m just glad it wasn’t ‘Sakura’s Glory’ that one was always this one’s favorite.”

Yahiko and Sanosuke looked at Kenshin in surprise.  “You’ve actually heard of this artist let alone know his work well enough to have a favorite and know a piece even from some random fact like ‘it has cranes in it’?” Yahiko asked in disbelief, _this coming from the guy who thought an ink painting was a doodle._

Kenshin stared back with wide eyes, “Ni’itsu Kakunoshin is a very famous artist, of course this one has heard of him.  And yes I’m very familiar with his works, that I am.”  _After all Ni’itsu Kakunoshin is or at least was Master’s nom de plume and I know every piece he ever crafted while I was living with him._ Kenshin loved ‘Sakura’s Glory’ the most because it was one of the last ones that his Master painted before Kenshin left and he had even let Kenshin help with the delicate piece.

“Kenshin, what kind of education did you have exactly?” Yahiko asked, he had been wondering that for some time now.

Kenshin grinned nervously, “eclectic?”

Suddenly Yahiko straightened up, turning his head slightly toward the kitchen, if he had been a dog his ears would have twitched in response to some instinct.  “She’s putting the dishes out, dinner must be ready,” Yahiko stated before jumping to his feet and rushing into the house.

“Did you hear anything?” Sanosuke asked Kenshin.

Kenshin shook his head, “Yahiko has very sensitive hearing, when it comes to meal times that is,” Kenshin laughed as they followed Yahiko into the house to find out that indeed, Kaoru was setting out the dishes and Yahiko was sitting eagerly at his spot at the table.  Chopsticks in hand, ready for the food.

“All right everyone, you ready for dinner?” Kaoru asked brightly from the stovetop as she was moving everything to kitchen table prior to portioning out the food and moving in to the shorter dining table.

“You bet!” Yahiko piped up, happily, excited about the prospect of having polished rice for the first time in his life, _even if Kaoru was the one to cook it._

“All right while I’m busy portioning out the hot food I have a something for you to try, it’s the first time I’ve ever tried to make sushi rolls by myself so you have to tell me if it’s any good.” Kaoru told them as she brought over a small platter filled with two slice rolls and set it down in the middle of the table so that the men could easily reach it before she turned back to pulling the hot pots off the stove.

The men looked at the rolls for a moment, contemplating the wisdom of trying them.  “Just in case someone asks me later how dinner was and I tell them about this, could you tell me what shape you were trying to make?” Sanosuke asked, pointing at the platter.

“They’re round Sanosuke,” Kenshin scolded.

Yahiko shook his head at Kenshin, “that’s not round Kenshin that’s….” he trailed off trying to think of the word to describe the shape (none of the men were paying much attention to the death glares they were receiving from Kaoru as she continue to work).  “What do you call something with ten sides?”

“Just try it!” Kaoru fumed as she brought over the pot of miso soup and barrel of cooked rice. 

The men looked at each other for a moment as Kaoru grabbed the small tray of fish from the kitchen, “well Kenshin, it’s your birthday, we wouldn’t want to deny you the pleasure,” Sanosuke clapped his hand on his friends back.

 _Oh too kind,_ Kenshin picked up a piece of sushi with his chopsticks and carefully smelled it when he was sure Kaoru’s back was turned before closing his eyes and sticking the whole piece in his mouth.  Sanosuke and Yahiko watched his reactions closely as Kenshin’s eyes opened in surprise and he chewed a couple of times experimentally before his face brightened.  “This is good!” he exclaimed as Kaoru came back with a small bottle and several small saki cups.

“Really?” Kaoru asked brightly, “it’s really not that bad?”

Kenshin nodded enthusiastically as he grabbed another piece and popped it into his mouth.  Sanosuke and Yahiko hesitated for a second before curiosity overcame them and they too grabbed a piece and sniffed it.  “It smells like food,” Yahiko commented.

“Kind of tastes like food too,” Sanosuke, mused after trying it.  “This is the first time the Missy’s made something that you don’t have to worry about gagging on.”

Kaoru’s eye twitched angrily as she poured the first cup of saki, “you know Sanosuke I don’t have to let you have any saki.” She warned him as she passed the cup to Kenshin who accepted it thankfully.

“I’m meant that as a compliment,” Sanosuke protested.  “Oh come on Missy, bet you didn’t know that you’re the prettiest dojo master in all of Tokyo.”

“I would certainly hope so since the other masters are all men, and all of them old enough to be at least my father.”  Kaoru responded drily.

“But you’re still the prettiest,” Sanosuke replied with a grin.

Kaoru tried to hide her smile at Sanosuke’s poor attempt at flattery, she shook her head, “fine, whatever, you can have a cup too.” She conceded before she handed the second cup to Sanosuke and proceed to pour herself the last cup.

“Hey Kaoru, have I told you lately how thankful I am that I have you as a master, I mean you’re so knowledgeable and great, I know I never tell you that enough,” Yahiko started, he figured if poor flattery worked for Sanosuke then he should have a chance of convincing Kaoru to let him try some saki as well.

“Nice try Yahiko,” Kaoru replied with glittering eyes as she sipped from her cup, “but you’re still not getting any saki.”

Yahiko pouted as Kaoru and Sanosuke laughed merrily, “better luck next time kid.” Sanosuke advised him.

“I’m not a kid,” Yahiko fumed, upset that they wouldn’t even let him try a sip.  Frustrated, Yahiko went to reach for another piece of the sushi only to realize that the platter was completely clean, he glanced up in alarm at Kenshin who was chewing on the last piece. 

Sanosuke had also realized that while he and Yahiko had been talking with Kaoru and trying to get her to pour them some saki, Kenshin had finished off the last of the sushi unchallenged.  “Kenshin, you could have saved some for us, Yahiko and I only got one piece each,” Sanosuke complained.

Kenshin looked at them shamelessly, “it’s this one’s birthday.”

“Oh leave him alone,” Kaoru scolded Sanosuke and Yahiko who were an inch away from making this Kenshin’s _last_ birthday for stealing the last of the food (despite the fact that is what they did on a regular basis).  Kaoru started dishing out the soup and passing it around.  Yahiko saw Kaoru’s saki cup sitting unintended and figured she was too busy at the moment to notice if he just sampled it.  He reached for the cup as quickly and obtrusively as he could and was just about to take a sip before Kaoru reached over and plucked it out of his hands deftly, setting it on her other side as she finished putting a fish on everyone’s plate.

Yahiko sat back in his spot resigned to the fact that he wasn’t going to get any saki after all, it was at the point he took a good look at the food in front of him.  He quickly glanced at everyone else’s portions just to be sure he wasn’t seeing things, he could see that Kenshin and Sanosuke were also doing the same thing as discreetly as they could.

“Well, eat up everyone, and there’s plenty more if you want it,” Kaoru told them happily, seemingly oblivious to the men’s latest hesitation. 

Sanosuke and Yahiko glanced at Kenshin, silently willing him to be the one to ask Kaoru about the meal.  Kenshin saw those looks and one glance at Kaoru’s face and her slightly strained smile said as clearly as words that she was just waiting for the question to be asked.  Kenshin was unwilling to provoke that anger so he just picked his chopsticks up again and resigned himself to his meal.  However, Sanosuke and Yahiko weren’t just going to take it.  After receiving an elbow from both sides, Kenshin, with a mental sigh, raised his head to address Kaoru.  “Kaoru-dono about dinner…”

“Yes,” Kaoru replied in a hard little tone.

Kenshin licked his lips nervously before giving her a happy grin, “this looks delicious, thank you so much for making it.”

“Coward,” Sanosuke mutter next to him.

“Why is the rice yellow?” Yahiko burst out, he couldn’t take it anymore, after all he had seen the perfectly white grains before Kaoru had touched them.

Kenshin directed a worried look at Kaoru who took a deep breath before answering.  “Because Sanosuke distracted me, Freckles was able to get in and knocked some spices over, some of those fell into the rice and that’s what turned it yellow.  But don’t worry it’s perfectly edible.”

“You sure?” Yahiko doubted, he took a look at the sickly yellow clump of rice in the bowl in front of him and pocked it with his chopsticks, “isn’t there some kind of rule against eating yellow rice?”

“Yeah the same one as eating yellow snow,” Sanosuke muttered so low that Kenshin was sure that Kaoru didn’t hear.

“That’s enough from you Sanosuke,” Kaoru warned with a hard tone. 

 _Guess Kaoru-dono heard that after all,_ Kenshin thought.

“Well Kenshin, it’s your birthday, you try it first and if you don’t knell over then it might be edible,” Yahiko informed Kenshin with an expectant face, waiting for Kenshin to try it first.

***

 “That was a good dinner,” Kenshin commented as he and Sanosuke walked along the darkening streets.

“I can’t believe I ate yellow rice,” Sanosuke moaned. 

“Oh stop complaining, with all those spices it actually tasted really good, especially with the fish, that it did.”  Kenshin told him brightly.

“That doesn’t change the fact that it looked like someone pissed on it.” Sanosuke complained. 

Kenshin rolled his eyes, “so what’s the plan then, since you’re dragging this one out then?”

Sanosuke grinned at him, “you just wait, this is going to be a fun night.”

Kenshin tried to ignore his misgivings on the subject, “if you say so.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I threw in the part with Kenshin being from a Christian family (since Christianity was illegal during that period but had been introduce ~300 years prior to Japan before it was closed off from foreigners) since when he buried all the bandits as a child the graves were marked by crosses in both the manga and the anime, something that was never really explained. It also made sense why he would be sold into slavery as a young boy from a farming village when in a few years time he would be old enough and strong enough to help in the fields. So I just decided to take that idea and run with it.


	11. The Innocence of a Picture

**Chapter 10**

**The Innocence of a Picture**

A lone artist worked by the light of a few lanterns, his fingers delicately painting the caricature before him.    He had meant to finish it earlier that day but had other pressing business that needed to be attended to, unpleasant matters that would help him reach his main objective.  The caricature was one that he had made many times before.  But unlike the many others that he had hung on the walls of his small home, this one he made, not for money like the others, but for a far more personal reason. 

There was hardly a sound outside.  Most of the world was in the quiet sleep of the wee hours of the morning.  But the silence didn’t affect the artist, all of his attention was focused on that paper before him. 

After several long hours, the picture was finished.  The artist leaned back with satisfaction, pleased at his work.     _At long last, the time I have been preparing for is almost here._   Before he set down his brush for the night, the artist completed the work by signing the work in the corner and naming the caricature after its subject.

As the artist directed his attention to turning down his bed and preparing for the dawn the caricature was left to dry on the table, the name of the caricature still gleaming as the ink dry, and its subject was left to gaze upon the world.

 _Your work shall be completed,_ that artist thought as he blew out the lanterns, with one last look at the caricature, _and all the world will remember the name of Captain Sagara…_

_***_

Kaoru sipped on a cup of hot tea while she watched the happy scene before her as somewhere a rooster started crowing at the first light of the new morn.  Tae was sitting up in bed cooing happily at her newborn son, Hayate.  The strain look on Nobuyuki’s face that he had since Kaoru had first arrived at the Sekihara’s home, after receiving the word that Tae had gone into labor, was starting to fade and he gratefully accepted the wishes of health and happiness to the newest addition to the Sekihara family.  Kaoru watched with a happy, but tired smile, as Tae finally relinquished the baby to its grandfather so that she could get some much needed rest after the long night. 

“You sleep well Tae,” Kaoru told her friend as Tae laid back on the bed.

“Kaoru,” Tae reached her hand to grip her friend’s face, “thank you for helping me through this.  It was sweet of you to give up a night’s sleep for this.”

“Nonsense,” Kaoru scolded her friend.  “I wanted to be here for this, just one thing tho’,” she added with a devilish smile, “try not to crush my hand next time.”

Tae grinned in response and Kaoru got up and left the room with most of the rest of the Sekihara family.  “Kaoru-san,” Nobuyuki addressed her after the door to the room where Tae was now sleeping closed behind them.  “It’s still dark, let us escort you home.”

Kaoru tipped her head at him, “really you don’t have to do that…”

“I’ll walk the girl home,” one of Nobuyuki’s uncles piped up.

Kaoru sighed internally, decided to accept the escort even though she was quite sure that she could make her way home safely, no matter what the time of day.  Nobuyuki’s uncle walked Kaoru all the way to the dojo and Kaoru made it inside the complex just as the sun was starting to shine its light on the world.  _I wonder how late Sanosuke kept Kenshin out?_ Kaoru wondered as she made her way into the house.  _Especially after I threatened him to within an inch of his life if he got Kenshin into any trouble._   Kaoru walked back through the house towards her room, pausing at Kenshin’s door, she didn’t want to disturb him, certain that he would most likely be feeling slightly ‘delicate’ after a late night with Sanosuke.  But her concern over whether he might need anything won out and she cracked the door slightly to peer in.  Kaoru was surprised when she saw the room was completely empty, she opened the door all the way to see that the bedcovers were carefully flooded and set to one side.  She blinked a couple of times at the sight, _he couldn’t possibly be up this early could he?_

Kaoru started a quick search of the home and the grounds, looking for Kenshin.  After not finding him she went straight to Yahiko’s room.  “Yahiko!”  Kaoru snapped to wake the boy, “did Kenshin come home last night?” she demanded as she stepped into the room.

Yahiko went from being peacefully sprawled across his bed drooling in his sleep to sitting bolt upright at Kaoru’s entrance and he stared at her without recognition for a moment.  “What?” he crocked.

“Did Kenshin come home last night after I left for Tae’s?” Kaoru demanded again.

Yahiko stared at her as though she was insane, “you woke me up in the middle of the night because you lost Kenshin?”  He closed his eyes, flopped back onto the bed and pulled the covers of his head.  “Why do I put up with this?” he moaned.

“So he didn’t come home?” Kaoru asked again, frustrated that she couldn’t get a straight answer out of the boy.

“Maybe he’s at Sano’s.” Yahiko suggested, hoping that it would get Kaoru out of his room and he could have a few more minutes of peaceful sleep.

“You’re right,” Kaoru exclaimed and she ran out of Yahiko’s room and straight out of the complex towards Sanosuke’s.  Only the most early of risers were slowly making their way to work when Kaoru arrived in Sanosuke’s neighborhood and she quickly ran to Sanosuke’s door knocking gently.  “Sanosuke, Kenshin are you in there?” Kaoru asked.  She received no answer so she knocked and called out harder, thinking maybe they just didn’t hear her the first time.  Still no answer and Kaoru wrinkled her face in annoyance. 

“Are you looking for Sagara-san miss?” an elderly woman asked Kaoru.

Kaoru turned to the woman with a little relief, _maybe this woman knows where they are._   “Yes I am, do you know if he’s home?”

“I’m sorry miss, but I live right next to him there,” the woman pointed at the door next to Sanosuke on the right, “and I never heard him come home last night, I don’t really sleep that well so I always know when he comes in the middle of the night and last night I didn’t hear a thing.”

“Oh well thank you then,” Kaoru replied in disappointment walking away.  _Where in the world could they be?_   Kaoru wondered, an idea hit her and she clenched her fists in rage.  _They better not have, not after I warned them…_

_***_

Kenshin slept peacefully with his back to the cell’s bars, Sanosuke to one side of him and a common drunk on his right who was using Kenshin shoulder as a pillow.  He would have preferred to have spent the night in his own bed but Kenshin had to admit, as far as jail cells went, this wasn’t that bad, excepting for the reek of alcohol from his right and the scent of urine the place processed it wasn’t so bad, at least not compared to other jails he had been in.  He heard the clink of locks being opened and doors being opened and he opened his eyes, blinking a few times as the light started to fill the jail from the rising sun.  Sanosuke next to him started yawning, the sound of footsteps echoed through the jail as the jailers made their way down the alleyway between the cells.

“Wonder what they’ll serve us for breakfast?” Sanosuke wondered.  “It’s never great but it’s food, and it’s free.”

“That’s true enough, jail fare always leaves something to be desired,” Kenshin agreed knowingly. 

“Though technically I shouldn’t even be here,” Sanosuke yawned as the other prisoners started to wake up at the sounds of the jailers portioning out breakfast.  “You’re the one who started the fight.  I wasn’t even in the room when it happened, just outside on the balcony.”

“I didn’t start the fight,” Kenshin shot back.  “And I shouldn’t be blamed for him falling into the fountain and breaking his leg.  Honestly that’s just the fault of whoever threw up on the porch.”

Sanosuke laughed as he remembered the scene of Kenshin dodging out of his attacker’s way who had gone crashing through the door, slipped on the fresh vomit on the outside porch and then tripped over the balcony to fall from the second story into the fountain.  “Yeah that was pretty funny.  And then his guys getting involved after that did make for a rather entertaining fight.”

The jailers finally made it to their cell and there was a great deal of pushing and shoving before Kenshin and Sanosuke were finally settled back into the corner, watery bowls of rice in their hands.  Both looked at their portions with resignation before starting to eat the meager fare.  The swirls of conversation surrounded them until one topic struck both of their attention.

“So did you hear there was another break in last night?  Big to do as well.  Couple of people were murdered as well.”

“Nah, hadn’t heard a thing since I’ve been in here, what happened?”

“Don’t know all the details but I heard some of the policemen were talking about it when they threw me in here.  Seems they think the Sekihoutai are the ones behind the whole string.  Don’t why tho’.”

“The Sekihoutai, who are they, some kind of gang?”

Kenshin put his hand on his friend’s shoulder at the mention of the Sekihoutai.  Sanosuke went stiff, his fist clenched.

“They might have misheard the whole thing Sano,” Kenshin whispered to his friend. 

“But what if they didn’t?” Sanosuke spat back, enraged that once again someone was tarnishing the name of the Sekihoutai.  Sanosuke turned his head to ask the man in the jail cell two down from them, who had told the others that the Sekihoutai were involved in the affair what he heard exactly when the sound of the jail’s doors opening again distracted all of them.  Kenshin and Sanosuke turned to look down the narrow alleyway to see the newcomer.  The moment that Kenshin saw who was walking with the jailers he hunched down behind Sanosuke, hoping that they wouldn’t see him.

“Good morning Kenshin, fancy finding you here,” a woman’s chilling voice cut through the air like a knife and both Kenshin and Sanosuke flinched at that it.  Kenshin peeked his head slowly around Sanosuke’s shoulder to see Kaoru’s angry glare with two of the jailers at her side. 

“Hey Missy you bailing us out?  That’s great of you,” Sanosuke piped up, but Kaoru never even looked at him, she focused all of attention on Kenshin.

“Just the red-haired coward please, the other one can stay.” Kaoru told the jailers as she stepped aside so they could unlock the cell door.  “Come on Kenshin, come out like a good boy.”  She told him firmly when Kenshin hesitated.

“It was nice knowing you Kenshin,” Sanosuke slapped his friend on the shoulder before Kenshin stood up.  “I’ll make sure you have a kick ass funeral tho’.”

_Thanks for the moral support Sano._

Kenshin stepped out of the cell and Kaoru immediately spun on her heel and walked away as one of the jailer’s relocked the door.  Kenshin meekly followed Kaoru with bowed head, certain he was being lead to his death.  She made her way out of the jail into the police station and straight up to the desk where the sergeant there handed over Kenshin’s purse and sword.  Kenshin took his money back but Kaoru snatched the sword away from Kenshin.

“I give you just one order, just one Kenshin and you can’t follow it?” she demanded.  Kenshin started to try and protest, but Kaoru had already turned, and was walking out, Kenshin had to hurry to catch up with her.

“Kaoru-dono please let this one explain,” Kenshin pleaded as they walked out of the courtyard and gates of the police station and onto the street proper.  “This one wasn’t looking for a fight, nor did I try to start one.  It was just when your cousin Itsuki showed up where Sano had taken this one for a drink he seemed a little ‘irked’ about that way I had treated him last we met.  And he started yelling about how he would show this one his place or something, and he then he attacked this one and well, things went a little downhill from there but I _swear_ that…”

“Kenshin do you think I’m mad at you for getting into a fight that landed you in jail and me having to bail you out?” Kaoru asked, stopped in the middle of the street to face Kenshin.

“Aren’t you?” Kenshin asked in confusion as he stopped with Kaoru. 

Kaoru glared at him, “okay maybe a little, but I’m more mad about the fact that you beat up that no good cousin of mine and I didn’t get to see it.”  Kenshin stared at her in confusion.  “Is it really true that you threw him from a second story balcony into a fountain and broke his leg?” Kaoru asked in a hush tone.

“Technically he tripped.” Kenshin responded, starting to relax a bit.

Kaoru started giggling at the thought before she sobered up and gave Kenshin a glare that he now realized was an act, “this doesn’t mean I forgive you,” she warned him, before a little smile escaped her and she handed Kenshin his sakabato.  “It just means that you’re not going to get punished at the moment.”

***

The Akebeko was bustling with the noonday crowd.  Tae was running around with people’s orders, her son Hayate sleeping soundly in the sling on her back.  It had been a week and half since he was born and Tae had gotten back to her duties at the shop as quickly as possible, her mother-in-law’s new found warmth towards her since the birth was rather unsettling to Tae who was so used to open hostility between the two.  Chiyoko had tried to insist that Tae need to spend more time at home before she could return to the shop, but between Tae’s insistence, and the fact that the shop was understaffed, Tae won out. 

“Another order of saki for table 5,” Emi informed Tae as she hurried to the back.

“Again?” Tae asked with a raised eyebrow, “those men can sure drink can’t they?”

“So long as they pay,” Emi shrugged before grabbing her trays of food to deliver from the kitchen and hurrying back into the fray.

Tae quickly grabbed another bottle of saki and hurried out to deliver it.

“Hey Tae that’s our favorite girl!” the men greeted her as she hurried up.

“You boy’s seem to be doing quite a bit of celebrating now aren’t you?” Tae asked as she quickly filled up the offered cups.

“What can we say? We have to celebrate our old friend Sano getting released from jail the proper way.  After all he hasn’t had anything but jail fare for over a week.” Genji laughed.

“Uggh,” Sano shuttered, “and it’s only a step above Kaoru’s cooking, but only a small step.”

Tae rolled her eyes before an idea hit her, “Sagara-san I don’t suppose I can impose on you for a quick favor?  The shop is too busy right now for me to do at the moment but I’m afraid that when I have a moment they will be sold out.”

“Huh?” Sanosuke lifted his head from his rice bowl to look Tae in the eye.  “What might be sold out?”

“A caricature, well a particular caricature to be exact,” Tae informed him.

“A caricature?”

“Yes that’s right, the gallery is displaying some new ones and they are so popular that they sell our quickly,” Tae explained.

“Let me get this straight Tae, you want Sano, to run an errand for you?” Shu asked incredulously.

“Man there is nothing scary than a woman who’s not afraid of anything,” Tomo laughed loudly.

“I’ll do it,” Sano stood up abruptly and his three friends looked at him in surprise.

“Sano, you feeling okay?” Shu asked in worry.

“I’m fine,” Sano waved him off, “they’ve treated me to a lot of free meals here.  The least I can do is run a few errands in return.”

“Well actually I’ve told all the girls to just add those meals you skip out on to your tab,” Tae informed him brightly.

Sanosuke’s eyes went wide,” I-I didn’t realize, I don’t have any way to pay that now.”

“Well we weren’t expecting it back this instant,” Tae laughed, “and the debt is earning a little interest so you take your time paying it back.”

“Interest!  You’re charging interest on a tab?  I didn’t know you can do that.” Sanosuke mused in shock.  _‘Course I’ll never pay it…_

Genji shock his head,” she’s the model of a fine business woman aint’ she?”

Sanosuke shook his head to clear it of the matter, “whatever, so what caricature did you want?”  Behind Tae, Tsubama was serving the next table.

“The samurai Hachiro Iba by Tsunan Tsukioka,” Tae perked up.  Behind Tae, Tsubama straighten up and turned her face towards them so she could hear the next part of the conversation a little better.

Sanosuke’s eyebrow shot up, “Iba?  Everyone’s favorite pretty boy samurai of the Bakumatsu,” _She is more shallow than she looks._

“That’s the one, just bring it right back here when you’ve gotten it,” with that Tae hurried back to the kitchen to see to her work.

Sanosuke rolled his eyes, _women._   He turned to leave but Tsubama stepped towards him, “uhh, excuse me.”

Sanosuke turned back towards her, “what is it?”

“Ummm,” Tsubama gripped the empty tray she was holding to her chest and looked down, a slow blush spreading across her cheeks.  “Oh nothing,” she muttered in embarrassment.

“If you have something to say spit it out,” Sanosuke ordered.

Tsubama flushed even more and her head dipped lower.  Sanosuke sighed, “well I’m off to get to get that Tsunan Tsukioka caricature, two enough?” Sanosuke called behind him as he walked out.  Tsubama perked up with a big smile, realizing that Sanosuke had understood her silent request.  With a soft laugh she ran back to her duties.

Shu let out a breath as Tomo laughed, “that Sano is in a class of his own.”

“Yeah, the class that never pay’s his bills!” Genji laughed.

“Don’t get me wrong,” Shu explained, “I like this new gentle Sano, but the old Sano was, wow.”

“You mean Zanza?” Tomo clarified.

“Yeah,” Shu replied taking a sip of saki.  “His was always laughing but his eyes were always angry, like he was a bomb about to go off.  He was always on fire.”

***

Sanosuke stood in front of the many galleries that sold caricatures, about to walk in when he heard his name called out from behind him.

“Hey there,” a familiar voice greeted.

Sanosuke turned around to see Kenshin and Kaoru.  “Oh it’s you two, running some errands in town?”

“That’s right,” Kaoru confirmed.  “So you’re going to buy a caricature Sanosuke?  That’s a little out of character for you.”

“A hobby of yours Sano?”  Kenshin inquired politely, “or a gift for a lady perhaps?”

“My guess is that he’s looking for some new shunga drawing.” Kaoru scoffed.  _Disgusting habit._

 _They’re both right in a way, but not how they think,_ Sanosuke thought in amusement.  “Actually I’m running an errand for Tae and Tsubama.  And by the way I’ve never been into shunga, I’ve never understood the squid thing that’s all the rage.”  _That ought shut the Missy up quick._

Kaoru’s face blanched, Kenshin’s face however twisted in puzzlement.  Sanosuke could almost see the wheels turning as he tried to figure out what Sanosuke meant.  “Squids?  Why would squids be in them?  Are they eating them or something?”  Kenshin’s head tipped as he tried to figure out the mystery.

Kaoru’s hand flew to her mouth and Sanosuke had to use all his will power to keep himself from bursting out laughing at his friend’s obvious ignorance.  “I’ll never understand how someone who has seen as much of the world as you could be so _innocent,_ ” Sanosuke shook his head before walking into the gallery.

Kenshin’s brows furrowed and he glanced at Kaoru, still trying to figure out what everyone else seemed to understand that he didn’t. 

While Kenshin was still trying to figure out the conversation and Kaoru was doing her best to block all memory of the situation from her mind, Sanosuke had turned his attention towards the numerous caricatures on display. 

“Hey mister, you got any Hachiro Iba by Tsunan Tsukioka for sale here?” Sanosuke asked politely as Kenshin and Kaoru finally join him inside the gallery.

The storekeeper brightened up at the potential for a sale, “you’re in luck sir, these two here are the last one’s that I have.”  He gestured to the caricatures in question.

 _Perfect,_ Sanosuke thought as he surveyed the delicately drawn caricature, he personally couldn’t see what the ladies swoon over himself, _he’s too much of a pretty boy._    “I’ll take both of them, how much?”

“10 sens,” the storekeeper answered promptly pikcing up the two caricatures and rolling and tying them for sale.

“Uhh,” Sanosuke hesitated, not realizing how much they would cost as he mentally calculated how much cash he had.  “Hey Missy you mind loaning me some money?” he whispered to Kaoru.

Kaoru’s face flashed, and with a low growl she pulled out her purse and handed over the money directly to the storekeeper, “you are paying me back Sanosuke, even if I have to take it out of your hide.”

“Not a problem,” Sanosuke assured before he leaned in towards Kenshin as the storekeeper handed the caricature to Kaoru in exchange.  “You want to come gambling with me tonight to win Kaoru’s money?” he whispered discreetly.

Kenshin’s only reply was to raise his eyebrow at Sanosuke before sighing in pain.

“You know I never realized how many differed types of caricature there were,” Sanosuke mused as he looked at the various drawings.  “There are a lot of people from the revolution in these.”

“Oh yes,” the storekeeper explained.  “The Ishin Shishi patriots and Revolutionary army sells almost as well as souvenirs from Tokyo.  Hachi Iba and others of the Bakufu armies are very popular with the people of Edo.” 

Sanosuke’s eyes reached the end of the stall and the sight of one caricature caused all the blood to drain from his face.  Kenshin had been staring at the different caricature for display but noticed Sanosuke’s sudden tension and he glanced at his friend, catching his look of utter shock.  “Sano?” he asked in worry.

Sanosuke picked up the caricature before him in disbelief, reading the title for the fifth time, still not believing it, ‘Sekiho Army, First Unit, Sozo Sagara by Tsunan Tsukioka’.  “Captain Sagara,” Sanosuke breathed.  True to life, the Captain stood flush with sword drawn and two young boys standing guard on either side, one he recognized as a younger version of himself holding a bo, and the other holding the rifle was…

“Oh that one,” the storekeeper glanced at the artwork in question as Kaoru peeked around Sanosuke to glimpse the work.  “That’s the only one of Tsukioka’s that never sells.  The sellers have all refused now to buy anymore since we can’t sell them but still he goes on painting them.  I don’t understand why he seems so fascinated by that false leader of the Imperial Army.  After all a lot of good was done when he was finally excuta-”

“Where can I find Tsukioka?” Sanosuke demanded, looking up to see that both Kaoru and Kenshin were holding their hands of the storekeeper’s mouth, knowing what would happen to the unsuspecting man if he went on insulting Captain Sagara. 

“Sorry about that sir, but you were saying a little too much, that you were,” Kenshin apologized as he and Kaoru removed their hands and the storekeeper looked at them in surprise.

“You hear me?”  Sanosuke demanded again, not caring about anything at the moment except learning the truth behind the picture.  He grabbed the storekeeper’s kimono and held the man inches from his face.  “Tell me where I can find this Tsunan Tsukioka!”

“Sanosuke!” Kaoru tried to free the storekeeper but to no avail.

“He-he lives in Dobuita row house I believe, but he doesn’t see anyone so he won’t speak to you.”  The storekeeper stammered.

Sanosuke released the storekeeper and turned away with purpose, still gripping the caricature in his hand.  “Oh he’ll see me,” Sanosuke whispered to himself, his eyes burning with fire.  “There is no way that he _won’t_ see me.”

***

Sanosuke had spent almost a half hour carefully searching the Dobuita Row Houses for the one name he sought.  Finally, he found a plaque of ‘Tsukioka’ next to one door.  He waited outside for a moment tuning out the background sounds and trying to see if he could hear any movement inside the house.

“Mom it’s really smoky,” a child told their mother behind him.

“Wait inside like I told you.”

“Someone grab that chicken quick!”

“Welcome back Matcha, are you hungry?”

Sanosuke stood outside the door for several minutes until he was sure that he heard the faint scratching of a pen inside the hut before him.  _So he’s home, time to open up._

Sanosuke raised his fist and started politely knocking.  “Tsukioka-san, Tsukioka-san, Tsukioka-san.  I know you’re in there, open up!”  Sanosuke felt his frustration mounting as the scratching noise continue without the slightest interruption as far as Sanosuke could tell.  He gritted his teeth and slammed his fist against the wood frame causing the door to shake on its rollers.  “Former Sekiho Army Cadet Katsuhiko Tsukioka, open the damn door or I’m going to break it down!” Sanosuke roared.

The pen came an abrupt halt and after a moment there was a shuffling of movement before the door was opened and Sanosuke found himself looking at a young man about his own age.  He had a slightly unkempt look, as though not concerned about personal appearance, and a bandana tied around his head that helped only a little with holding back his long black hair that hung down loosely.  He stared at Sanosuke as though looking at a ghost and Sanosuke’s lips quirked a little that his hunch had been correct. 

“I knew it,” Sanosuke stated with satisfaction.  “There wasn’t anyone else it could have been.”

“Is that really you Sano?” Katsuhiko asked in disbelief.  “How on earth did you find me?”

“With this,” Sanosuke held out the caricature of Captain Sagara.  “It was pretty obvious when there was me _and_ you on either side of the Captain, you were the only one who could have drawn this.”

“You’re probably right about that,” Katsuhiko’s face broke into a smile of relief over finding so old of a friend.  “How on earth did you manage to survive the massacre?”

“I could ask the same of you,” Sanosuke laughed, “the last I saw of you, you were shot and bleeding out in the bushes.”

“And I thought you had been killed when they took the Captain,” Katshukio replied, he shook his head, and glanced up and down the street.  “Come on in, we can discuss the whole thing inside.”

Laughing, Sanosuke followed Katsuhiko inside, meanwhile around the corner of the row house Kaoru watch the exchange in relief.  “I see, so Tsunan Tuskioka is also a survivor of the Sekihotai army.  He and Sanosuke were probably close friends back then since they are about the same age.”  Kaoru mused.

Kenshin grabbed Kaoru’s hand, “we should go back Kaoru-dono,” he urged turning towards home. 

“But aren’t you curious Kenshin?” Kaoru asked in protest.  “And shouldn’t we at least say hello to Sanosuke’s friend?”

Kenshin shook his head at Kaoru, “Kaoru-dono you only followed him because he was upset.  But as you can see there’s obviously no problem.”

“You were worried too, and you were the one leading the way here if you remember,” Kaoru pointed out.

Kenshin bowed his head in reply, not able to argue with Kaoru’s description of the facts, “well no matter, there is no reason to get involved at present, and that this is a powerful memory for Sano as the mark of ‘Aku’ on his back attests.  And besides, in the world of old memories there is no room for visitors.”

Kaoru sighed and then allowed Kenshin to lead the way back home.  “You’ve no fun sometimes Kenshin.”

Kenshin laughed a little to himself enjoying the cooling breeze of evening as the sun began its descent.  Sanosuke had found a friend from the past that he had thought lost, the dojo was doing well, everyone was in good health, and Kaoru’s hand was firmly holding his own.  All in the world seemed perfect to Kenshin.

A sudden flash of blue with white mountain stripes caught the edge of Kenshin’s vision.  With instinct born out of long conflict, he shoved Kaoru to the side and out of the way of any danger, releasing her hand as he turn to his left to face the image, going at once into a fighting crouch with his hand on his sword half drawn. 

All that greeted Kenshin was a rather frightened looking old man carrying a basket full of vegetables.  “I-I’m just an old man sir, please don’t hurt me,” the old man pleaded falling to his knees, dropping the basket, and holding his hands in front of his face in fear. 

Kenshin survey the street, seeing no one else and no cause for alarm.  “Kenshin are you all right?” Kaoru asked in worry, coming up next to him and laying a hand gently on his sword hand to push the blade back into its sheath and prevent him from drawing it. 

Kenshin continue to look up and down the street, but now his eyes were wide in disbelief that there had been no cause for alarm and that he must have imagined the whole thing.  “I, I thought I saw something, but I guess not.”  He straightened up, his heart pounding in his chest.

Kaoru looked up and down the street, then back to Kenshin for whom the reaction of the adrenalin rush was starting to affect him and she could feel his hand shacking.  _I can’t do anything for him at the moment, best smooth over the situation._ She knelt in front of the old man and picked up his basket.  “I’m so sorry for the trouble, here let me carry this home for you.  Don’t worry, nothing’s going to happen to you,” Kaoru assured the old man as she stood up and offered out her hand to help the man up.

“That is very kind of you miss,” the old man bowed, he glanced at Kenshin in worry though.

“Come on Kenshin, let’s help this man get home,” Kaoru ordered gently, trying to draw Kenshin back into the present, he was still looking around with wide eyes.

Kenshin shook his head, trying to bring it back to the present and out of the haze of the blood stained streets of Kyoto.  “Let this one help you honored one.  So sorry to have frightened you.”

As Kaoru carried the man’s shopping and Kenshin helped the old man walk to his home a figure watched, coming out of the shadows as they disappeared down the street.  The tall policeman, Lieutenant Fujita, leaned against the wall of the buildings, his katana clanging softly against the stones of the wall.  He pulled out a cigarette and lit it, contemplating the scene he had witnessed. 

_So even after all these years he still remembers me, how interesting._


	12. The Artist’s Truth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here is the bonus chapter for Memorial Day, it's a tad late since I was helping a friend moving this weekend and I'm only now getting a chance to catch my breath.

**Chapter 11**

**The Artist’s Truth**

Captain Sagara sat on a boulder overlooking the river.  The army was setting up camp for the night and he was taking a moment to be alone with his thoughts.  He picked up a leaf and put it to his lips and whistled, turning over the problems of the logistics of the unit in his mind.

“Captain Sagara, look what we have Captain Sagara!”

Captain Sagara turn his head to see the youngest recruits of the Sekihoutai running towards him in pride with their arms filled with fish caught from the river and their fishing rods.  Sanosuke and Katsuhiro were both in their early teen years and had all the awkwardness in their movements of an adolescent whose body is growing faster than they could keep up with.  Captain Sagara immediately took note that Sanosuke’s hakama were already showing his ankles, he was sure that they had fit right only last week.

“We caught some fish for dinner, I got the biggest one of all!” Sanosuke announced with pride, gesturing to the fish that filled his arms.  Suddenly the fish started flapping and fighting against the boy.  “Hey give up the fight already you stupid fish.”  Sanosuke yelled in frustration as he got smacked in the face by the tail fin.

“Don’t let this one get away too Sano,” Katsuhiro scolded, he turned to the Captain with a scornful face.  “Sano let 3 fish get away from him today Captain.”

“Idiot, you weren’t supposed to tell the Captain that,” Sanosuke shot back in anger that his friend gave him away.

“We’re supposed to report everything to the Captain you fool.” Katsuhiro snapped back.

“Now, now,” that Captain stepped in before the argument would escalated into a full out fight as the boys glared at the other.  “That is enough of that, both of you take those fish to the cooks and let them prepare them for the night, and no more fighting you two, that’s an order.”

“Yes Captain,” They replied before they turned and ran back to the camp with their catch. 

Captain Sagara turned back to his musings, he had been given orders to spread the word about the cut in taxes that the revolutionary government was promising to the farmers, he was not sure why but he felt a sense of foreboding about it.  That feeling of foreboding would be realized in full the night that the Staff Officer, Tatewaki Shindou would arrive and announce that the Sekihoutai had been condemned to die for following commands given to them.

“Kill all the traitors, let none escape!”

Captain Sagara and Sanosuke managed to get out of the chaos of the commander’s tent with two officers, the Captain panted in pain, having been shot twice in the initial moment of the ambush to protect the young Sanosuke.  With the officers’ help and Sanosuke, they were trying to make their way through the battle to the safety of the forest.  They turned a corner of the tents to see several Imperial Soldiers waiting.  The two officers dropped the Captain at once and leap forward into the fray.  One of the Imperial Soldiers got past them and he raised his sword to slay the Captain but Sanosuke leaped forward from behind the corner of the tent with the Captain’s sword in hand and thrust into the man’s chest.  He twisted the sword before withdrawing it and the solider made a gurgling noise, blood frothing from his mouth as he collapsed dead on the ground. 

Sanosuke turned to help the other officers before a boyish shout ordering them to duck echoed and the two officers jumped out of the way as a small object landed among the group of Imperial Soldiers.  Sanosuke pushed the Captain to the ground as the world suddenly exploded.  Sanosuke glanced back, coughing against the dust and dirt were thrown into the air by the force of the bomb to see the soldiers were dead, the tents on either side were either blown apart or on fire, and there was impressive crater cut into the earth, Sanosuke was surprised that such a small bomb could have done so much damage.  Meanwhile the officers were picking themselves up with a shake as a newcomer joined them. 

“Katsu, give a little more warning next time, that bomb of yours could have killed all of us!” Sanosuke shouted in anger.

“I said duck,” Katsuhiro shot back, “and you’re welcome by the way.”

Captain Sagara pulled himself off the ground and looked around, taking a quick estimate of the situation, he had just made a decision as the two officers helped him to his feet but he had no time to say a word as the moment he had his feet under him the five made their way as fast as they could through the camp, trying to avoid as much of the battle as they could, heading towards the safety of the dark forest.   

They reached the forest, taking a moment after reaching the darkness of the trees to look back and make sure they weren’t being followed.  Captain Sagara saw the stunned expressions on both Sanosuke and Katsuhiro’s faces as they watched the battle below and he knew that this would be a moment that they would never forget. 

“Katsuhiro, Sanosuke, the soldiers will be looking for me especially, you will be faster and safer if you leave us and travel on your own.”  Captain Sagara ordered the boys.  If nothing else survived this night of the Sekihoutai but its two youngest members than he knew he could die in peace.

“You’ve got to be kidding Captain. I’m not leaving your side even if it kills me!”  Sanosuke replied emphatically. 

“That goes double for me, we’re members of the Sekihoutai too.” Katsuhiro added with as much energy.

“That’s true, you are both members,” the Captain mused under his breath, before he even had a chance to say another word the sound of stone on stone caught their attention and Katsuhiro turned his head to see an Imperial Solider pointing his rifle at Sanosuke.  In a moment of pure instinct, Katushiro leaped forward and pushed Sanosuke out of the way as the solider took the shot and Katsuhiro dropped to the ground. 

“Katsu!” Sanosuke screamed as one of the officers grabbed the back of the boy’s collar and dragged him as they ran with the Captain further into the forest to try and escape their pursuers.  But they and the Captain would die in the attempt and only Sanosuke through a shear accident would even survive the chase.

*** **  
**

“…the shot was serious but not life threatening, I was fortuned that it missed my heart,” Katsuhiro explained as he told the story about how he had survived to Sanosuke over a cup of saki.  “The soldiers were so busy chasing after the Captain and you that no one took the time to see if I was even dead.  I managed to crawl under some bushes to stay hidden, the next thing I remember it was the next day and some men were combing through the area looking for anything they might be able to sell.  One of them found me and had enough sense of humanity to drop me off at the local temple where the monks there treated me until I was back on my feet.  They thought I had just been wandering in the woods that night and wasn’t one of the soldiers and I never bothered to correct them.  Eventually I made my way to here to Tokyo.”

“And became an artist of all things,” Sanosuke laughed before he took a sip of the saki.  “Guess I shouldn’t be too surprised, you were always good with your hands when it came to things like loading rifles, mixing gunpowder, making those disasters you called ‘bombs’ that almost killed all of us…”

“I do recall that saved your life,” Katsuhiro pointed out.  “Anyways, how did you get away?”

“Simple really, they chased us to the edge of a cliff over a river and the Captain told me to run, I said hell no, and then the Captain pushed me off the cliff.  Before I drowned I managed to get to shore.”  Sanosuke shrugged.

Katsuhiro laughed,” well it sounds like we both got lucky.”

“Here’s to luck,” Sanosuke raised his cup for a toast and they both drank to the luck that had saved them that night.

“So what have you been doing since then Sano?” Katsuhiro asked.

“I used to work as fighter-for-hire but have since given that up.  Mostly these day’s I’m just a free loader, been having a lot of fun doing it too.”

“Fun,” Katsuhiro intoned in an emotionless voice, his face drawn and serious, he set down his saki cup and Sanosuke looked at him curiosity, surprised at his sudden change in mood.  “I haven’t had a moment of ‘fun’ since that night.  I’ve spent half a decade cursing those pigs who framed Captain Sagara and the Sekihoutai.  I don’t think that I even laughed or smiled until I saw you just now.”

“You’re even more depressing now than you were then, still no friends I take it,” Sanosuke commented and Katsuhiro glanced at his friend in bewilderment.  “I was like that too really, up until a few months ago.”  _When I got the sense knocked into me, literally._   Sanosuke thought in amusement as he remembered his fight with Kenshin.  Since then he had never looked back on those five years he had spent bitter and hating all the world.

“Was…?” Katsuhiro asked, there was a strange look on his face that Sanosuke couldn’t figure out.  Somehow the question seemed more poignant than it was.

“Yeah,” Sanosuke responded, he couldn’t explain the feeling of foreboding that was growing in the pit of his stomach. 

Katsuhiro stared at the floor with a feverish look, his mind turning something over and Sanosuke felt himself lost as to the meaning of what was happening.  “This must be the will of the Captain from the other world that we should meet now on the day I have finished all the preparations.”

“Katsu?” Sanosuke asked, his worry growing with each passing second.

“Sanosuke,” Katsuhiro started slowly, giving weight to each word.  “Will you help me to rebuild the Sekihoutai army?”

Sanosuke’s eyes snapped open, he felt as though he had been hit by a ton of bricks, the strange look in Katsuhiro’s eyes he now recognized for what it was.  The fire of madness brought on by an overpowering thirst for revenge against those who had destroyed one’s world.  He knew that look well, how often had he seen it in his own eyes before he had met Kenshin?

“Together we can bring down the Ishin government that framed us and build the _real_ new world that the Captain dreamed of.”  Katsuhiro continued.

Sanosuke gulped, his mind was racing as he struggled to come up with a reply.  He knew that his instant reaction of ‘have you completely lost your mind you crazy loon?’ wouldn’t get him far.  “What are you planning to do?” he asked slowly, trying to buy himself some time to think and plan. 

“The Sekihoutai still stands for something, the Captain’s dream of a world of equality for the four classes.  In order to achieve this, we have to crush the Meiji government.  And it won’t take much, compared to the 300 years of the Tokagawa Shogunate, the past five years of the Meiji are nothing.  And how long did it take to overthrow the Shogunate?”

“How?” Sanosuke repeated, hoping his voice wasn’t as hollow as it felt.

“First the heart of the government must be crushed, the Department of Internal Affairs.”  Katsuhiro explained.  “If I was greedy I would also strike at the army, navy, and the Ministry of Finance but I can’t do that alone.”

“Alone?” Sanosuke intoned hollowly.  _Did I use to be like this?  This insane in my quest for revenge?_ He wondered.

Katsuhiro got to his feet and walked to one of the small closets, Sanosuke couldn’t do anything but just sit there.  “Who can I trust?  I learned not to trust blindly, the fate of the Sekihoutai taught me that.  I devised the plan alone and I will carry it out alone if needed.  But even so, I have my true art at my disposal.”  With that he slid back the door to the closet and Sanosuke’s jaw dropped as it was stacked floor to ceiling with small, easy to carry and conceal bombs. 

“The Sekihoutai taught me how to make explosives, and I’ve spent the past 5 years saving and making these, taking my time so as not to leave a trail.  If we destroy each of the department headquarters one by one, breaking the power of the government then the oppressed farmers and samurai throughout the country will rise in revolt.  The government still weak from the revolution will have no chance, it will fall like an avalanche.  We will build a world of true equality and lift the stain from the name of Captain Sagara.”  Katsuhiro closed the door of the closet and sat back down in front of Sanosuke, picking up his cup of saki.  “I’ve already obtained a layout of Department of Internal Affairs and drawn up a plan for the placement of the bombs for maximum effect to bring the building down.  The date is the 31st, a Sunday and a new moon, there will be no one around to interfere with the plan.  So Sano, will you join me?”  Katsuhiro looked at his friend but Sanosuke was too speechless to answer his friend.  Katsuhiro’s face soften a bit, “Sano I won’t force you to do this, I see that you have been living happily in these times and I won’t make you throw that away from me.  But I will do this with or without you, but as an ex-Sekihoutai member you are the only one I can trust.”

***

Sanosuke made his way home in a daze, his head awhirl with the events of what had happened.  He had left Katsuhiro’s place, saying that he needed time to think the proposition over but that he would have his answer for Katsuhiro in a week.  The truth was that he had no intention of helping Katsuhiro carry out his plan.  He was instead needing the time to figure out how to reach his friend and make him see how insane his idea was.  _He really believes that blowing up a few buildings will cause a revolution, how many years, and how many men had to die in the Bakumatsu before it actually lead to armies and the true fight?  Not to mention he believes all this will lead to that world of equality the Captain believe in.  But how will_ his _revolution be any different from the last one?  We would probably end up with the exact same mess, the same corrupted officials oppressing the people, oh maybe it would be a different class oppressing the others but the result is still the same._  

Sanosuke kicked a stone in frustration.  _Never mind the politics of the situation, I just need to figure out how to make a mad man sane._  He thought about how Kenshin had made him see sense.  _But somehow beating the sense out of Katsu and then telling him that the most merciless Hitokiri of the Revolution is fighting for the same thing he is won’t work.  Katsu isn’t like me, he doesn’t think the same way I do._   Sanosuke sighed, remembering what he had learned about Katsuhiro not long after they had first met in the Sekihoutai.  _He was taken in the a yakuza when his parents died and forced to commit acts of burglary and arson.  And he’s still stuck in that same mindset that with a few simple actions he can change people’s minds because that’s how it worked when he was with the yakuza._

Sanosuke got back to his home and he slammed the door shut behind him, startling the spider busy building a web in the corner of the room.  Sanosuke didn’t care, he sat down with a ‘plop’ grabbed a piece of straw from the tear in his futon, flung himself down on his back staring at the ceiling as he chewed on the piece of straw, musing over the problem in his mind.

 _If I brought in Kenshin to help me I’m sure we could destroy all those bombs that Katsu has made but then Katsu will just start over and make more, probably go underground again so that we can’t find him, so that won’t work.  Kenshin might be able to help me come up with something but if I get him involve now he might want to stop Katsu before we managed to convince him to stop on his own and then he’ll just disappear and start over again._   Sanosuke gritted his teeth in frustration. 

Suddenly a new idea hit Sanosuke and he sat up, pulling the piece of straw out of his mouth as a horrible train of thought crossed his mind, _how did Katsu afford all the materials to make those bombs in so short of time?  Did he really earn all that money just from making caricatures?  Or has he been supplementing his income in other ways, after all, if he used to be a burglar and arsonist and if he’s contemplating arson then a few acts of burglary would fit that pattern.  And there are all those rumors that those recent string of burglaries have been committed by the Sekihoutai…_

Sanosuke made his decision in an instant, he was on his feet and out the door.  _That’s it!  I need to know why the police think the Sekihoutai are robbing people and I need to know now!_

_***_

She leaned against the wall of the building in defeat, it was slightly uncomfortable with the case on her back that held one of her most prized processions, a beautifully crafted hosozao shiarisem.  _Totally struck out, does no one in Tokyo appreciate good music anymore?_   She had tried playing at a small inn but not one person would throw her a coin, it had been like that for the past 3 days.

Her stomach started growling and she wrapped her arms around herself with a groan.  _Guess I can muse about my shortcomings over a bowl of rice or something cheap._   She hurried out into the street proper following her nose towards the faint smell of food.  Her long braid swayed to and foe behind her as she moved quickly while at the same time pacing herself so as not to make too much noise as she moved to prevent anyone from realizing that she had a small arsenal of weapons tucked neatly into her clothes.  Eventually her nose lead her to a small tea shop.  Eagerly she stepped in.  The tantalizing smell of food surrounded her and her stomach grumbled again.  She sat at a table and a young girl about her own age stepped up. 

“What can I get for you?” the waitress asked politely.

The girl smiled, “what’s the cheapest dinner you have?”

The waitress eyebrows shot up, “a plain bowel of soba.”

“I’ll take it with a cup of water please,” she replied cheerfully.

The waitress paused before running back to the kitchen, “that’ll be two sens.”

The girl continued to smile as she reached into her kimono and pulled out her money purse, _this is what you get for asking what’s the cheapest thing on the menu._ She emptied the contents of the purse into her hand and gulped.  She glanced back up to the waitress with a hesitant smile, “don’t suppose I could get half off?  I’m really hungry.  I’ve also got this hosozao shiarisem, I’m really good with it so I could play some music and earn my dinner that way.”  She gestured to the case she had on her back.

“Not a chance,” the waitress snapped.  “And we don’t put up with loafers either, so if you don’t buy anything than please leave.”  With that the waitress turned and returned to the kitchen.

 _Yep, today isn’t really my day,_ the girl grumbled, dragging herself off the bench and walking out the door.  _And I haven’t had any luck making money the honest way and now I’m out of cash and hungry.  Guess it’s time to fall back on one of the world’s oldest professions._

She found a quiet and dark alleyway before she removed the instrument from her back and the small bag she carried that contained all of her possessions.  It only took a few minutes to change out of the blue kimono tucked into a black andonbakama that she called her ‘street clothes’ and into the simple black tunic and narrow hakama’s, with leather fingerless gloves that extended up to her elbows and wide and thick obi that was perfect for counseling her weapons.  She called this outfit her ‘business clothes’.  It took a little longer to adjust her weapons so that they continued to remain hidden in this outfit but once she was satisfied that the weapons were hidden, she completed the look with a white clock that she wrapped around her shoulders to cover what she wore.  The girl pulled the hood up over her head, grabbed her bag and instrument and she searched for a good place to stash them while she went ‘hunting’. 

***

Sanosuke felt like punching through a wall, he was no further into his investigation than when he had begun it the day before.  _I’m just wasting time,_ Sanosuke fumed.  _I’ve got nothing on this ‘Sekihoutai’ robbery thing and have no better idea of what to do about Katsu than I had yesterday._ The thought had crossed Sanosuke’s mind briefly about making an anonymous tip to the police about Katsuhiro’s plans but he knew the moment that he did that Katsuhiro would know who betrayed him.  And the moment that Katsuhiro realized who sold him out then he would never trust anyone ever again and he would be even more spiteful than he was now.  _And besides they would hang him for treason._

Sanosuke sighed and rubbed his head, feeling a headache coming on from the stress, _I wish Kenshin could help on this but Katsuhiro is even less trusting than I was and there’s no way he would ever listen to anyone else but me.  Especially if he learns of Kenshin’s real identity._ The moment Sanosuke thought about the situation the more he realized that he was going to have to be the one to convince Katsuhiro of the folly of his path.  He was the one person left in the world that Katsuhiro trusted, respected, and listened to.  No one else could do this for him.

“Someone help!”

Sanosuke came to attention at a man’s desperate scream for help cut off by several loud smacks.  Leaving his black musings behind him Sanosuke sprung into action, running towards the sound of the scream, and turning into a dark ally.  He paused at the mouth of the alley, seeing nothing beyond but the street at the far end.  Sanosuke thought for a moment that he had the wrong place before one of the vague shadows of the alley stood up and Sanosuke realized that there was someone in the alleyway. 

“Hey what’s going on here?” Sanosuke challenged, he was sure someone had asked for help but he couldn’t see any signs of danger.

“Oh nothing at all sir,” a woman’s voice answered him.  Sanosuke took a few hesitant steps into the dark alley. 

“You sure?  I thought I heard something,” Sanosuke took another step forward and his foot landed on something soft.  With a start of surprise, he stepped back, knelt down, and felt what he had stepped on.  “Hey miss you should get some help, there’s a guy knocked out here, there must be a robber around here somewhere…” Sanosuke started to get up but a chain suddenly wrapped around him firmly, pining his arms to his sides, and he heard a rattle as the chain was being secured off of something above his head.  He turned his head towards where the figure had been but could see the alley was completely clear.  _Where did she…?_

“You’re kind of nosy you know that?” the woman’s voice responded pleasantly in his ear and Sanosuke tried to spin around but the chain held him firmly, _how did she get behind me?  She never went past me I’m sure of it.  Did she jump over me?_   Sanosuke wondered as something hard and metal slapped him across the head causing his head to spin around.

“You’re going to pay for that!” Sanosuke roared.  He didn’t care if it was a woman, he was going to make this stranger pay for tying him up and then hitting him.

A girlish laugh answered him and the same metal object hit him three more times on the head before he collapsed senseless to the ground. 

The bandit then proceeded to rifle through his clothes until she had found his money purse and with satisfaction tucked it into the pouch in her tunic.  She then proceeded with expect skill to loosened the kama on the other end of the chain that had wrapped itself around the chain secured around Sanosuke’s chest.  It only took a few moments to unwrap the chain from around Sanosuke, unhook it from the beam near the roof of one of the buildings on either side of the alleyway, and carefully replace part of the chain into the hollow shafts of the kama’s and replace the weapons to their hidden sheath on her thigh.  The bandit then proceeded back down the alley to pick up her white cloak, wrap it around herself, and taking a few minutes to mentally slip back into her character of a harmless young girl she pulled up the hood of the clock and stepped into the street at the other end.  Happily humming a tune, her purse now heavy from the night’s events, she mused on the night’s proceedings.  _First stop pick up my hosozao shiarisem and bag, second dinner, then tomorrow off to Narashino to see if that lead pans out._

_***_

The morning had been beautiful, there was a pleasant southern breeze keeping everything feeling a little cooler than normal for that time of the year.  Kenshin was busy watching Ayame and Suzume who had been left at the dojo.  They were in the inner courtyard of the dojo and Suzume was busy showing Kenshin her latest trick, bouncing the ball.  Her whole face was screwed up with concentration as she used both hands to bounce the ball, trying to beat her record and bounce the ball ten times before she lost control.   Ayame was standing nearby keeping count for Suzume.

“Suzume, you are very good at bouncing that ball,” Kenshin commented after she lost control on eleven bounces and the girls quickly leaped forward to catch the ball before it went rolling too far away.

Suzume grabbed up the ball, her face flushed with pride at Kenshin’s comment, “I can do even better, I’m sure I can bounce it even longer this time Uncle Kenny.”

“But I want to play with it too, I want to show Uncle Kenny how many times I can bounce it,” Ayame grabbed towards the ball in Suzume’s hands.

“No it’s my ball,” Suzume screamed, holding onto the ball for dear life, her face pouting.

“It’s my turn, you’ve had it long enough,” Ayame snapped back.

“No it’s my ball!” Suzume screamed running off with Ayame hot on her heels.

“Suzume, Ayame!” Kenshin ordered, chasing after the girls to settle the fight.  He grabbed both girls’ arms as soon as he caught them, giving them both a firm look.  “Ayame you should use a kinder tone when speaking to others, that you should.”  Kenshin scolded and Ayame’s face suddenly became very contrite, Kenshin turned to Suzume.  “And Suzume you know well enough to share, it’s Ayame’s turn, let her play with it now.”

Suzume’s little face harden a little, “no!”

Kenshin’s face hardened more, “Suzume this one is very disappointed in you, I thought you better behaved than this.  Now you won’t get to play with the ball until you apologize to your sister for your attitude.” He told her in the strictest voice he would ever use on the girls.  He held out his hands and Suzume gave him the ball, her head downcast and her little chin trembling as she started to cry.  Kenshin handed the ball to Ayame, his heart softening as Suzume’s shoulders started shaking and he could hear her sniffling.  “Suzume do you want to apologize to Ayame now?” Kenshin asked softly, regretting the harsh words he had used with the little girl and trying to think of what he could do to make it up to her.

Suzume raised her head that was streaked with tears, her whole face screwed up as she cried, with a wail she spun on her heels and ran into the dojo where Kaoru was in the middle of morning lessons.  Kenshin started after the girl but a slight whimper made him turned around and look at Ayame who was on the verge of tears as well.  “Ayame?” Kenshin asked hesitantly.

With a wail Ayame burst into tears, “I’m really sorry Uncle Kenny, I’ll be nicer I promise.” She bawled.

“Oh Ayame it’s okay,” Kenshin counseled the girl, giving her a big hug and letting her cry on his shoulder.  _What did I say???_

_***_

 “Alright everyone pair up with your partner and practice that technique,” Kaoru ordered right as Suzume came running into the dojo, bawling.  She ran straight to Kaoru, wrapping her arms around her legs and burying her face into Kaoru’s hip as she cried.

 _What the…?_   Kaoru knelt down and pulled the girl back to look her in the face.  “Suzume, what’s wrong?  Did you hurt yourself?”

“Uncle Kenny hates me!” Suzume wailed before burying her face into Kaoru’s shoulder and crying uncontrollably.

Kaoru closed her eyes and sighed mentally, _some days aren’t even worth fighting with the cat to fold the futon up._   Kaoru picked the little girl up and balanced her on her hip.  “You heard me, everyone pair up.  Yahiko, watch things for a moment.”  Kaoru stepped out the side door of the dojo as the boys hesitantly paired off and started practicing.  Kaoru glanced around the courtyard area trying to find Kenshin who was supposed to be watching the girls.  It didn’t take her long to find him as Ayame’s crying announced their location in a moment.

Kaoru looked in amazement at Ayame who was crying just as hard as Suzume. “What happened?” Kaoru mouthed to Kenshin.

Kenshin met her glance with a strained expression.  “I’m not sure,” he mouthed back sadly.

Kaoru sighed again, “we’ll talk later.”  She mouthed back, Kenshin nodded slightly and Kaoru stepped back into the dojo, gently soothing the sobbing girl as she assured her that no matter what happened her ‘Uncle Kenny’ did not hate her.  Kaoru wasn’t sure if her words made any impact on the girl.  It certainly didn’t seem to alleviate her crying.

***

Sanosuke stumbled in through the gates of the dojo rubbing his pounding head.  He followed the sounds of voices into the common room of the house.

“This one was sorry to make you girls cry like you did, I did not mean to be so mean, that I did not,” Kenshin, who was crouched at eye level with Ayame, apologizing to the two little girls.   Suzume was still being held in Kaoru’s arms and Ayame was standing next to Megumi, one hand holding on to her kimono.  Yahiko was taking advantage of the distraction of everyone and was eating treats he had pilfered from the kitchen as he leaned against a wall, watching the spectacle.

“It’s okay Uncle Kenny, I should have behaved better,” Ayame sniffled.

“I’ll be better next time Uncle Kenny, cross my heart,” Suzume swore, tracing an X on her chest with only the slightest of sniffles.

“Sanosuke, what happened to you?” Kaoru asked in amazement, taking in the multiple bruises on his face.

“Let me take a look at you,” Megumi offered stepping towards Sanosuke matter-of-factly.

“Forget it,” Sanosuke snapped his head away from Megumi’s reach, “if I stopped to treat every cut and scrape I got then I would never get out.”

Megumi humped in reply.

“Besides, what in the world is going on in here?” Sanosuke asked in bewilderment. 

“Kenshin had to give the girls a bit of a scolding earlier when they wouldn’t share their toys and they took it badly,” Kaoru shrugged.  “Now girls say good bye so Megumi can get you home in time for dinner.”  Kaoru gave Suzume a quick squeeze before setting the girl on the ground, she and Ayame then ran over to Kenshin who remained crouched and let him give them a quick hug before they were ushered by Megumi out of the house.

“Yahiko what are you doing?  You’re going to ruin your dinner if you eat now,” Kaoru snapped at Yahiko who had just stuffed the last of his stolen food into his mouth, making his checks budge. 

Yahiko’s eyes got wide, “I ghot hongy,” he answered through a mouthful of food.

Kaoru rolled her eyes, _I don’t know why I brother, Yahiko can always eat._  

“So you upset the girls today Kenshin?”  Sanosuke asked with a quirked eyebrow.

Kenshin stood up with a sorrowful expression.  “Suzume wouldn’t share her ball and Ayame snapped at her and when this one scolded them they started crying and wouldn’t stop.”

“You, made two little girls, cry,” Sanosuke repeated slowly, giving weight to each word.

Kenshin’s head dropped and Sanosuke wouldn’t be surprised if he started crying as well.  Well that was before Kaoru’s hand slapped him soundly across the back of the head.

“Ow, what was that for?” Kenshin asked hurt, rubbing the back of his head.

“Don’t you start bawling too, I’ve had enough people crying in this house today.”  Kaoru scolded him.  She turned to Sanosuke, “now what on earth happened to you?”

Sanosuke answered with a completely straight face, his cover story already decided upon.  “A gang that I got on the wrong side awhile back decided to come back for revenge, real tough guys.  And if you think I look bad you should really see them.”

Kaoru’s eyebrow rose, “is that it?  From the looks of it I was going to guess that you got beat up by a girl.”

Sanosuke’s eyes snapped open in surprise, _how could she know…?_   “You think a girl would get the best of me?”

Kaoru shrugged, “I don’t know why but it was just a passing thought.  Anyways, you boys can catch up, I’ve got dinner tonight.”  With that she stepped out of the room and made her way to the kitchen.

Sanosuke sighed, “the Missy’s cooking, _I_ might cry now.”

Kenshin shook his head grabbed a cushion and sat down on it, propping his sword down on the ground next to him.  “So Sanosuke what have you been up to recently?”

Sanosuke took a moment to answer the question, he still hadn’t fully decided how much to involve Kenshin and the others at the dojo with his personal problems, he decided to keep things safe and keep the crux of the problem to himself for the moment.  “Well you remember the other day when I was out picking up that caricatures for Tae?  Actually, speaking of that, I just remembered that I never did get that to her.”

Yahiko laughed as he joined them, “don’t worry, Kaoru delivered it to Tae and Tsubama for you.”

“Whew, that’s a relief,” Sanosuke whipped his brow, “anyways I got distracted because of that one picture of Captain Sagara and all.”

“Weren’t you going to go and talk to the artist?” Kenshin questioned, trying to keep things causal and not reveal what he knew.

“I found him all right and turns out he’s an old friend of mine who is also a former member of the Sekihoutai who turned artist under a pseudonym.  His real name is Katsuhiro Tsukioka.”

“So the artist Tsunan Tsukioka is your old army friend Katsuhiro Tsukioka?”  Kenshin repeated, “it is truly a small world for you to find each other after all this time, and in such a way.”

“Yeah it was a bit of a surprise, we spent a while catching up.” Sanosuke continued before he was cut off by Yahiko.

“You know the artist Tsukioka?  Man you can be real popular with the girls if you tell them that, every girl at the Akebeko seems to be obsessed with his work at the moment.”  Yahiko laughed.  “And with your face looking the way it does you need all the help you can get.”

“Shut it kid,” Sanosuke punched the boy in the arm, Yahiko yowled in pain and rubbed his arm sullenly.  The conversation turned to other matters until Kaoru’s yell that dinner was ready caused all the men to hustle into the kitchen to help laying out the table.  As Kaoru was dishing out the portions of rice and passing the bowels around, the conversation turn back towards Sanosuke. 

“So Susuma was telling me something in class today, that the word on the street is that the recent string of burglaries were really committed by the Sekihoutai, Sanosuke is that how you’ve been paying your bills when you don’t mooch off us?” Yahiko laughed.

Sanosuke froze and Kaoru turned to Yahiko with a flushed face, “there are good jokes and there are bad jokes Yahiko,” she snapped.

“I know that,” Yahiko sobered up, “I don’t really think you’re involved with it Sano.” He assured Sanosuke.

“Forget it,” Sanosuke turned his attention to eating, ignoring yet another remainder of his pressing problem with Katshurio.

“Look I know that Sanosuke eats all our food, borrows money and never returns it, skips his bills at restaurants, is an incurable womanizer, gambles money away when he does have it, and what else?” Kaoru paused her tirade to think about it.  “I’m sure there’s something else that I’m forgetting.  But anyways, the point is that he’s not a thief.”

“You think,” Yahiko finished for her.

“Right, I think.” Kaoru agreed.

“I believe what Kaoru-dono was trying to say is that you can’t judge a person by what’s on the outside, but only after you get to know them.”  Kenshin stepped in quickly before Sanosuke had a chance to reply.

“So, Sano has no hope of redemption then?” Yahiko questioned innocently.

Kaoru snorted next to him before bursting out laughing.  “You know I don’t have to come around if all I get is insults,” Sanosuke snapped.

“Yes you do if you want any dinner,” Kaoru laughed as she scooped up a spatula full of rice and refilled Sanosuke’s rice bowl.

“I tried Sano,” Kenshin sighed, looking mournfully at Yahiko and Kaoru who were doubled over in giggles.  “But there is no winning when those two team up.”

Sanosuke was about to shrug the whole affair off before he remembered what Yahiko had said about the Sekihoutai being involved in the robberies.  Until this moment the only place that he had heard that rumor had been in jail.  “So Yahiko, why do they think the Sekihoutai are involved in the robberies anyway?” He asked disinterestedly despite the fact that he was an inch away from shaking the answer out of the boy.

“Oh something about a picture of Captain Sagara being left at every crime scene or something like that, oh and did you guys hear that they started using bombs in the robberies?  Those guys have to be well equipped,” Yahiko exclaimed in excitement before stuffing his face full of rice.

Sanosuke froze, the rice bowel falling from his lifeless fingers.  Kenshin and Kaoru exchanged panicked expressions that no one else noticed.  “Sanosuke…” Kaoru started but before anyone could stop him, Sanosuke was on his feet and running out the door.  Kenshin went after him and Kaoru made it as far as the door before she turned around to Yahiko who looked surprised at everyone’s reaction.  “Yahiko you should really learn to think before you speak,” she snapped before she took off after Kenshin.

Yahiko stared after everyone in shock, “what did I say?” he wondered aloud.  Then suddenly it clicked in his mind on a mouthful of rice.  _Sanosuke’s old friend from the Sekihoutai is the artist Tsukioka, who makes the caricatures of Captain Sagara…_   Yahiko gulped down his food, his eyes wide in realization.  “Oh shit.”


	13. The True Sekihoutai

**Chapter 12**

**The True Sekihoutai**

Ashikaga sat in the meeting with a head that felt as though it was splitting apart, that was partly due to Saigo shouting.

“We have to stand up against this insult from Korea, how can we expect to stand as proud as a nation when we let this insult from Korea go unchallenged!  We should show those pig faced inbred fools the pride of Japan!” Saigo yelled, spit flying from his mouth.

Ashikaga was glad that he was far enough down the table to be out of range of Saigo.  “We don’t have the resources,” he began in frustration.  He had been giving this same speech for a month now but it had little effect on Saigo, unfortunately as time moved on Saigo was gaining more and more followers and Ashikaga was afraid if Kido and Okubo didn’t return to Japan soon then they would find themselves in a war they couldn’t win. 

“Saigo has a point, if we allow this insult to pass unchallenged than other nations may also decide to cease their recognition and trade with us and all progress that has been made in commence will end.  We must do something soon or face a worse crisis,” Shibumi, the Secretary of the Senate agreed.

“The country is still weak from the revolution, our army is only half trained at best, it is a fight we cannot win!” Ashikaga persisted.

“Is it that you are concerned about our chances against Korea, or is that Ashikaga-san, descendent of the Ashikaga clan, is afraid to fight?” Shibumi asked with raised eyebrow.

Ashikaga’s face flushed at the insult, he slowly got to his feet with burning eyes.  “I am no coward, I am a samurai, descendent of a clan of samurais who can trace their roots back to the Heian age.  I have never run from a fight and have led my men on the battlefield throughout the revolution.  But you Shinbumi-san, I do not remember your face being there.”

“You dare to challenge me?” Shibumi roared, jumping to his feet in rage.

Ashikaga lifted his chin proudly, “you are mistaken, you challenged me first, I am merely trying to ascertain if you have the courage to carry out the challenge.  Or do you prefer to make thousands of young men carry out your fights for you?”

“That’s enough both of you!” Yamagata snapped, “we are supposed to be the leaders of this country, let’s act like it!”

Ashikaga and Shibumi’s face twitched unhappily and with the slightest inclination of their heads they nodded to the other and retook their place at the table and the discussion began once again.

***

Sanosuke didn’t stop running until he was at Katsuhiro’s home, he threw open the door without brothering to knock.  “Katsu!” Sanosuke yelled, he stood stunned for a moment when he saw the room was empty.  Sanosuke glanced around and saw that on the small table was a caricature of Captain Sagara with something written in the corner.  Sanosuke picked it up and read it.

 

_Sano, I’m glad that I got to see you again.  Never give up the fight._

_Katsuhiro_

 

Sanosuke clenched the note in his hand.  “Katsu,” he whispered.  “Where the hell did you go?”

***

Kaoru waited at home, nervously pacing the floor, waiting for Kenshin to get back.  She glanced at the clock seeing that it was almost eleven o’clock.  She had decided to give up the search for Sanosuke when it started getting dark but when she returned home Yahiko informed her that Kenshin had not yet returned.  For what seemed the millionth time Kaoru debated going after Kenshin and convince him to give up the search for Sanosuke but the moment she thought about it she realized the futility of her action.  _I have no idea where Kenshin might be, he knows better than I do where Sanosuke tends to go.  And besides, if I go looking for him then he might come back while I’m gone._  

Kaoru groaned in frustration, she hated the feeling of uselessness, she wanted to be able to do _something_ about the situation.  Despite how Sanosuke often annoyed her or how much she gave him a hard time for being a free loader, he was still a friend and she didn’t want to see him mixed up in anything that his friend might be in just because of their history.

“Kenshin hasn’t come back has he?”

Kaoru turned to see Yahiko step timidly into the light.  Kaoru had to admit, the kid looked terrible.  It was clear from his expression that he was blaming himself for the entire situation.    “Not yet,” she replied tiredly. 

Yahiko shuffled forward a few steps, not meeting Kaoru’s gaze.  “I’m really sorry about this, I wasn’t thinking about what I said earlier.”  He apologized to Kaoru for the third time that evening.

“That doesn’t matter Yahiko,” Kaoru sighed.  “Sanosuke would have found out sooner or later about those caricatures.”

Yahiko still wouldn’t meet her gaze and Kaoru’s heart twisted in sympathy for the boy.  “Do you think Sanosuke’s friend might be mixed up in the robberies and murders then?” Yahiko asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

“I don’t know,” Kaoru answered honestly, “I’ve never met the man so I can’t say.  “But it’s clear from the way that Sanosuke tore out of here that _he_ thinks that is a possibility.  And we both know how Sanosuke gets when he’s like this.” 

“You think Kenshin will find him?” Yahiko asked in a soft voice.

Kaoru gave the boy a little smile, “if anyone can find Sanosuke it’s Kenshin.”

***

Sanosuke was tearing through town looking for any trace that he could find of Katsuhiro.  He realized that Katsuhiro wouldn’t be able to pull off the robbers by himself, he had to have help.  So far Sanosuke had paid visits with a couple of brothels, gaming houses, and yakuzua hang outs trying to find someone with the information that he sought.

“Hey Sano!”

Sanosuke came skidding to halt to face the breathless Tomo and Geni who had been chasing after him.

“What’s up guys?  Did you find anything?” Sanosuke demanded.  In one of his stops, he had enlisted the help of his friends to help him track information on the robberies.

“We found a guy who might know something,” Tomo told him quickly.  “There’s a guy at the Shuei-ya who’s been spending big at the gaming tables, after he had a few drinks he started claiming that his recent coming into money is ‘all thanks to the Sekihoutai’.”

“What’s his name?” Sanosuke demanded wildly.

“Shinzou, everyone calls him Red Nose Shinzou.” Geni answered quickly.

“Thanks guys,” Sanosuke pushed his way past his two friends and took off towards to the Shuei-ya.

“No problem, for a friend,” Tomo replied but he knew that his friend was far out of hearing range.

***

 “Somebody had better be dying,” the storekeeper, who ran the caricature shop where Sanosuke had first learned that his old friend was still alive, grumbled as he opened the door of his home to find out who had been knocking insistently so late at night.  He blinked his eyes in surprise at the young man before him, recognizing him as the one who had come in with the lady several days before when he had been attacked by their friend.

“This one apologizes for brothering you so late,” Kenshin apologized to the man, “but this is a matter of great importance.  I need to ask you about that caricature of Captain Sagara by Tsukioka.  You said that it does not sell but have you ever sold one before or perhaps one of the other dealers?”

The storekeeper’s eyes furrowed at the question, “why do you ask?” 

Kenshin had started the evening by trying to track Sanosuke down by revisiting Katsuhiro Tsukioka’s home which he had found empty.  After that Kenshin had tried to think like Sanosuke and where he would go after that and then visited every gaming house that Sanosuke had dragged him to (and the brothels that Sanosuke had tried to take Kenshin to).  But despite his best efforts he had no luck finding his friend, at best he managed to just miss him.  Finally, Kenshin had given up in frustration with trying to track Sanosuke and decided to try simply hunt down the elusive caricatures to lead him to the robbers knowing that if he did so, sooner or later, Sanosuke would also find them and he would find Sanosuke.

“Because I believe they may be linked to the ones committing all the recent robberies.”  Kenshin answered promptly.  “Please sir, have you sold any of those caricatures to anyone, partially a large number of them?”

The storekeeper rubbed his chin, “it’s hard to believe that those lousy selling caricatures would have anything to do with that, but there was talk among the art dealers when someone bought a large stack of them at the picture shop down the way, I’m sorry but that’s all I know.”  The storekeeper apologized.  “But it’s just down by the teashops and potteries, you can ask the owner if he knows anything more,” The storekeeper pointed the way.

“Thank you sir you have been most helpful,” Kenshin bowed quickly and spun on his heel prepared to track down the shop to see what he could learn before the storekeeper spoke again and halted Kenshin in his tracks.

“You know you’re the second person to ask me about that?  Tsunan Tsukioka also asked me about that earlier today.”

Kenshin spun around with wide eyes, “Tsunan Tsukioka asked about them?” he gasped in shock.

***

The smell of alcohol and sweat hung in the air as the group of men huddled close together at the gaming house.  A loud groan went up from the gamblers when the die were reveled showing snake eyes and the gambler’s money was quickly collected to ready everything for the next round.

“Looks like I lost another one,” Shinzou groaned, rubbing his chin.  It was clear from his face why those who knew him called him ‘Red Nose Shinzou’.  All of years of drinking had given him a permanently ruddy complexion, made even more so by the slow yellowing of his skin.  “Oh well this is only pocket change anyways!” he laughed taking another drink of saki.

The gambler next to him stared in amazement.  Shinzou had lost over 20 yen, enough to feed a family for two months.  “You must be doing well for yourself if that’s your pocket change,” the gambler commented, sensing an opportunity to possibly seize on some of the good fortune of his companion. 

“Well it’s all thanks to the Sekihoutai,” Shinzou laughed, pouring himself another drink and placing his next bet.

“Don’t suppose you have a way of sharing the wealth?” the gambler persisted pleasantly.

“Don’t even try friend, this isn’t something meant for the masses,” Shinzou replied slyly. 

***

It was late and Shinzou had been thrown out of the gambling house once he had run out of money in order to make room for the next customer.  He didn’t mind, seeing as how he had other places to be in order to see that his current run of wealth continued.  He stumbled down the street whistling tunelessly.  He didn’t even notice the tall stranger blocking his path until he had almost run into him.

“You Red Nosed Shinzou?” the stranger boomed in a deep voice.

Shinzou squinted trying to see the stranger’s face in the darkness.  “Yeah, so?”

“You seem rather pleased Shinzou,” the man continued.

“Who the hell are you?” Shinzou demanded angry trying to push the man out of his path but his attempt had no effect on the man and only forced him to take several steps backwards to regain his balance.

“Doesn’t matter, but if memory serves you’re a member of the Shiranuitou thieving ring.”

Shinzou gulped, “how do you know that?”

The man suddenly grabbed Shinzou by the throat, slammed him against the wall, and held him several inches off the ground gasping for air.  “I’ll be asking the questions here, you are going to start with telling me why you are so grateful to the Sekihoutai.”

***

A group of men gathered in the back room of a house in a middleclass neighborhood.  The owner was among the men who gathered, this had long been the secret meeting house for the Shiranuitou gang.   The owner of the home, Tatewaki Shindou, was the leader of the gang and had started the campaign of robberies leaving behind the caricature of Captain Sagara in order to keep the police chasing down members of the Sekihoutai believing them to be responsible and allowing the Shiranuitou group to continue their work unhindered. 

“He’s late,” Shindou barked.

“I apologize,” the second in command bowed, “he must be gambling again,” he turned his head to the men behind him, “someone bring him to the meeting.” He barked.

“Yes sir,” a man jumped up but the Shindou stopped him. 

“No need,” he motioned the man to retake his seat.  “It’s time to talk about tonight’s operation.”

“Yes sir,” the second in command agreed.

“It’s Shimizuga, the oil dealer.”

The second in command smiled, “I see sir, Shimizuga is quite well known for his large art collection, it seems we would make quite a profit.”

“Indeed,” Shindou agreed with a smile, “Ancient Japanese art is extremely popular among the foreign merchants in Yokohama, it will be _very_ good money.”

“What ‘bout the police, have there been any problems?”

“They’re too busy trying to track down former Sekihoutai members thinking they are involved with this.  I can keep them busy chasing their own tails for a few more months still.”

The second in command shook his head, “The Sekihoutai were a pitiful group that never amounted to anything.”

“Agreed, but they are serving a purpose now.” Shindou mused, he was a former member of the Imperial Army and now served as a caption on the police force, ironically in charge of the Sekihoutai robberies.  He had been a member of the Shiranuitou gang for several years having long ago made the decision that he would not spend the rest of his days as a lowly police officer, not when there was real money to made in the new era.   He began to outline the plan for the night before there was a crash as Shinzou was thrown through the door, knocking it off its rollers, and hitting two of the men in the room.

“What the hell?” Shindou rose to his feet looking out the opening where the door used to be to see a tall punk with spiked air and look of absolute fury on his face.

“Of all the assholes in this world who could have been behind this, I never dreamed that the leader of the Shiranuitou who now claims to be the Sekihoutai is the one who framed Captain Sagara and the rest of the Sekihoutai, former staff office Tatewaki Shindou!”  The punk declared.

“Do I know you?” Shindou replied coldly, the members of his gang reaching for their weapons.

The punk smiled a crooked smile, “former member of the _real_ Sekihoutai, Sanosuke Sagara.”

“Sagara?” Shindou gasped in surprise.

“Sekihoutai?” the men whispered looking at each other in disbelief, none of them thought any of the real Sekihoutai members had survived the massacre. 

Sanosuke cracked his knuckles and his neck as he surveyed his opponents.  _Twenty of them, one of me, seems even enough._   “It seems to me that you owe the Sekihoutai for the use of their name, time to pay up.”

“What are you waiting for?  Kill him now!” the second in command screamed at the men who continued to hesitate.

Sanosuke raised his hand beckoning the men forward and one of the more rash men leaped forward with a yell his sword held high to slash down on Sanosuke.  Unfortunately, the man did not take the doorframe into account and his sword struck it and became wedged despite the man’s startled attempt to remove it.

Sanosuke tilted his head in annoyance right before he directed a quick uppercut catching the man under his chin and sending him flying back into his friends’ right behind him causing a whole row of men to go down.  “How incompetent are you guys?  Come out into the garden, I’ll play with you there.”  Sanosuke taunted as he retreated into the garden to give them plenty of room for the fight.

The Shiranuitou members yelled as the charged out of the house and towards Sanosuke.  Sanosuke looked almost bored as he duck, dodged, grabbed a bo before it hit him, wrestled it out of the man’s hands and then used it to smack two other men across the chest, shattering the stout wood and causing those two men to drop to the ground like sacks of grain. 

Behind the fight, on the wall, a slim figure crept to the edge to get a better view of the fight taking place below.  The cool night wind blew the stranger’s bangs out of his face and a faint glimmer of the moon from behind a cloud gleamed against a cross shaped scar on the stranger’s face.  Kenshin watched as Sanosuke was taking down the Shiranuitou gang using nothing but his fists.  _I wonder what Sanosuke would be capable of if he had learned his fighting abilities in a more traditional way instead of brawling and bar fighting?_   Kenshin wondered, not for the first time, as Sanosuke continued to hold his own despite the odds.  Kenshin had to admit when it came to raw fighting talent, Sanosuke had the reflexes and skills, what he lacked was grace and refinement in his techniques and conservation of energy and movement.  _Though,_ Kenshin thought as he surveyed the trail of hurt men on the ground, _his way does seem to be quite effective._  

“I’ll get this guy,” one of the Shiranuitou members yelled as he pulled out a bomb, lit it and threw it at Sanosuke.  Sanosuke’s eyes widened and he leapt out of the way as the bomb went off with a blinding flash.

 _Damn it, a flash bomb,_ Sanosuke swore as he blinked against the stars, trying to get enough of vision back to defend himself.  With an oath, Kenshin crouched on the roof, one hand on his sword about to leap to the aid of his friend as half a dozen men with weapons charged toward the momentarily blinded Sanosuke.  That was before a rather small dark object was thrown among the men and an explosion erupted that even from Kenshin’s position flung him back against the roof with a gasp.

 _What the hell kind of grenade was that?_ Kenshin swore, as coughing against the dust and the heavy stench of gunpowder in the air he lifted himself up with a grimace to see what was happening down below.  From the house next to him he could hear people’s cries of surprise and knew that in a short period of time someone would fetch the police to the area.  Kenshin was going to have to make sure that he got Sanosuke away from the area before that.

Sanosuke picked himself up from the bushes where he had been thrown by the explosion, rubbing his eyes to see.  _Katsu really needs to work on giving a guy warning when he decides to join the party,_ Sanosuke coughed against the smoke as Katsuhiro strolled casually through the mess of bodies of the men injured and bleeding from the grenade he had thrown.  “Okay this time you didn’t even give me a warning!” Sanosuke complained.

Katsuhiro gave his friend a half smile, “my apologies, I didn’t realize that you would be here, if I had known you were tracking down the same men then I would have invited you to join in the fun.”

“Like I need your permission,” Sanosuke shot back.  “Besides you haven’t really missed much, these guys aren’t even worth fighting.”

Katshuiro’s face turned tragic, “well that’s such a shame, I was really hoping to teach these scum how _true_ Sekihoutai members fight.”

From his position on the roof Kenshin could see that between Sanosuke’s early endeavors and Katushiro’s grenade almost every member of the Shiranuitou gang was on the ground and not getting up any time soon, either through injury or choice.  Kenshin watched a few men pick their heads up, saw that Sanosuke and Katsuhiro were on their feet and then laid their head back down on the ground, feigning unconsciousness. 

Sanosuke looked around, his vision clearing up and came to the same conclusion as Kenshin, “looks like we’ve taken care of all the small fries, time for the leader.”

Sanosuke took a step forward but stopped as Shindou stepped out of the house holding a pistol pointed at them.

“This actually might work better than anything else I could plan, having the bodies of actual Sekihoutai members at the scene of the crime is the perfect evidenced that the Sekihoutai really were behind all the crimes.” Shindou smiled pleasantly, already sensing the promotion that this would win for him.

From above them on the roof, Kenshin once again prepared to leap to the rescue but Katushiro just started laughing, “I wouldn’t be counting my chickens just yet, you’re going to have more things to worry about than your cover story.”

Shindou’s eyebrow quirked, “what do you mean by that?” he demanded.  The answer became abundantly clear as Katsuhiro grabbed Sanosuke and pulled him to the ground as another explosion rocked the night, this time from beneath the house, right under the door where Shindou stood.

Sanosuke pulled himself off the ground and looked at the complete destruction of the back room of the house, one whole side was blown to pieces, parts were on fire and Shindou was under some rubble near where the back of the room had been.  “When did you throw that bomb?” Sanosuke asked in disbelief.

“With the first one, but it had a longer fuse, just in case anyone in the house decided to pull a stunt like that ass Shindou just tried.” Katsuhiro laughed.

Sanosuke laughed with his friend but stopped when he heard the police whistles in the distance.  “Time to go,” he informed Katsuhiro and together they quickly escaped over the back wall and were five streets over before the police even arrived on the scene.

***

Kenshin hurried to get back to the dojo, all in all he was pleased with the night’s events, Sanosuke’s friend wasn’t involved with the robbers and the true robberies would by now be in jail awaiting their punishment.  _Everyone will probably be asleep by now, it’s way past midnight already._   Kenshin thought making his way through the dark streets more from memory than sight.  He fumbled with the key to the dojo’s gates in his sleeve and had it in hand by the time he turned the corner and blinked in surprise when he saw there was a paper lantern hanging outside of the side gate to the dojo. 

He smiled a little, _Kaoru-dono can be so thoughtful_ , the light made unlocking and opening the gate much simpler than fumbling in the dark.  He slid the gate back, unhooked the lantern and stepped inside the complex, closed and relocked the gate and blew out the lantern, walking to his room on the side of the house, intending to enter from the side door facing the courtyard to avoid waking anyone in the house.  As he quietly entered his room and closed the door behind him he was surprised to see a light flicker from down the hallway.  Kenshin stepped towards the inner door of his room that lead to the narrow hallway that separated the sleeping quarters of the house to investigate, but the door slid back before Kenshin could open it to reveal a worried looking Kaoru.  Kaoru breathed a sigh of relief seeing Kenshin, she rested one hand on the door frame while the other held a candle. 

“Kenshin, you finally got back, you had me so worried, do you have any idea how late it is?” Kaoru demanded in worry, stepping into the room to get a good look at Kenshin.

“Kaoru-dono,” Kenshin smiled sadly back at her, “you didn’t have to wait up for this one, you should be in bed that you should.”

“So should you,” Kaoru pointed out, “well did you find Sanosuke?  Is everything all right now?” she demanded quietly.

Kenshin nodded in response.  “Yes, as it turns out his artist friend was not involved in the robberies and the real culprits have been caught by the police, you will probably read all about it in tomorrow’s paper.”

Kaoru smiled in relief.  “Well that’s good news.” Suddenly her face went blank and she stepped closer to Kenshin to examine something on his shoulder.  “Is this soot?” she asked in puzzlement, wiping something off Kenshin’s sleeve before he could react and revealing a small burned area on his sleeve.  Kenshin glanced down and realized that some of the debris from the bombs must have been thrown his way during the explosions.  “Uh, yes I think so,” Kenshin responded hesitantly.

Kaoru sniffed the black powder on her fingers, “why does this soot smell like gunpowder?” she demanded.  “And why is your sleeve burned?  Were you in a fight?”

“No Kaoru-dono, this one was not in a fight,” Kenshin replied.  Kaoru’s face harden, obviously not believing a word that he said.  “I wasn’t,” Kenshin insisted.  “Sanosuke and his friend Katsuhiro were the one’s fighting, I just watched in case they needed this one’s help, that’s all.  They did not even know this one was there.”

Kaoru turned her head away from him slightly with an expression Kenshin couldn’t read.  “Here I am worried sick that something has happened to you and you’re off somewhere trying to get yourself blown up.” 

“That’s not what happened,” Kenshin assured her again.  _Is she even listening to what I just said?_ “Like I said I wasn’t even…”

“This time,” Kaoru caught him off.  “But what about next time huh?”

Kenshin’s brows furrowed in puzzlement, “what am I supposed to do, take you with this one?” Kenshin demanded in frustration, he didn’t understand why they were fighting.  He understood that she had been worried and had waited up for him to come home but didn’t understand how that had led to this argument.  _Why can’t she just be happy that everything is all right?_

“That might be a good place to start, at least then I would know you’re all right rather than spending my time worrying about you.”

Kenshin shook his head, rejecting the idea without a second thought.  “Oh yes because every time you’ve been along things have gone so well.  This one only then has to worry about _you_ getting yourself hurt or worse.  When are you going to realize that you need to stay out of real fights and stick to fights in dojos where you belong?”  It was harsher than Kenshin had meant to be and he regretted it almost before he had finished saying it, but he was tired of this same argument they had been having almost since he had first met her.  He was even more tired of the way Kaoru had refused to listen to his side of argument, even after all the times when she had been hurt in a fight.

Kaoru’s face flushed with anger at Kenshin’s words.  “What did you say?” she half whispered.

Kenshin’s face hardened and he looked away from Kaoru’s face, “that was not exactly how this one meant to say it but I still stand by it.  It’s time that you realize that you need to leave the fighting for others and stick to teaching.”  _Then you won’t be in danger._

Kaoru recoiled from Kenshin as though he had stuck her.  “You think I’m incompetent or something?”

“This one’s reasons are sorely that your place is on the sidelines where you are safe, not where you could get hurt,” _where you aren’t in danger and I can protect you._ Kenshin turned back to Kaoru with hard eyes.  “But if you’re thinking that this one believes that you are an incompetent fighter keeps you out of danger than you can believe whatever you want.”  _Anything to keep you safe, even if you hate me for it._

Kaoru’s face went white in anger, her lips trembling with rage, without warning she shoved Kenshin back a step with one hand.  She looked as though she wanted to say something but was too angry to get the words out.  Giving up, she spun on one heel and walked out, slamming the door behind her so violently that it made the walls shudder.  Kenshin heard Kaoru walk back to her room, his eyes following the flicker of the candle as Kaoru walked to the back of the house. 

“What’s going on Kaoru?” Kenshin heard Yahiko’s sleepy voice ask, having been woken by the slamming of the door.

“SHUT THE HELL UP YAHIKO!” Kaoru screamed in fury at the boy before Kenshin heard the slamming of her door.

 _Congratulations Kenshin, you just earned the ‘Worst Handling of a Situation Award’._   He left out a low growl of frustration, his fists clenched at his sides.  _What the hell was I thinking, saying that to Kaoru-dono?   It needed to be said but it should have been done with a_ lot _more tact._   Kenshin suddenly felt as though his fury could not be contained in the small room.  He opened up the outer door of his room and stepped out into the cool night air.  He stepped forward, slipping his sandals back on and stepping into the back courtyard when he heard Yahiko’s door slid open behind him.  In frustration of someone intruding into his solitude, he glanced over his shoulder to see the vague shape of Yahiko at the door. 

“Hey Kenshin,” Yahiko half whispered in worry.  “What’s going on?  Why is Kaoru so mad?”

“Just go back to bed Yahiko,” Kenshin spat in rage.  None of it was directed at the boy, but in his state he couldn’t keep back the anger that he felt.  He saw the boy recoil from him, and though he couldn’t see the boy’s face in the dark he could well imagine the expression on it.  The door slid slowly closed.  Even now with his solitude back, Kenshin was even more restless and realized that he couldn’t stay in the complex with the way he was feeling.  He pulled out his key and walked straight to the side gate, locking it behind him as he stepped out into the street and started walking through the darken streets turning over the whole situation in his mind with growing frustration.

***

Meanwhile across town, Sanosuke and Katsuhiro were about to part ways to make their respective ways home.

“By the way, sorry,” Sanosuke told Katsuhiro. 

Katushiro’s eyebrow quirked into a question, “for what?”

“When I heard that bombs were used in the robberies and about the caricature of Captain Sagara left at every scene I thought you were involved.”

Katsuhiro made a face at him, “you think I would be angry about that?”

Sanosuke shrugged, “not really.”

“Then please don’t apologize, I’m not used to it.” Katsuhiro turned and started walking away but Sanosuke’s voice stopped him.

“Katsu, hold up.” 

Katsuhiro turned around in slight surprise.  “What is it?”

“You still going through with your plan on the 31st?”  Sanosuke asked instantly, “after all this?”

“Of course,” Katsuhiro replied simply.  “I want to take down the Meiji government and clear the name of the Sekihoutai, even more so now after those scum further tarnished its good name.  I’m sorry that you don’t feel as strongly about this as I do, I would have apprenticed having you by my side, but no matter.”

Katsuhiro turned away again and Sanosuke scoffed behind him.  “Who says’ I don’t feel as strongly about this as you do?  I just wanted to know if you were still stupid enough to go through with your plan and if you wanted another idealistic idiot to join you.”  Katsuhiro turned around with wide eyes to catch the crooked grin on Sanosuke’s face.  “I’ll leave the bomb stuff to you but I can still offer you a willing set of hands.”

“You don’t have to do this,” Katsuhiro assured him.  “I won’t hold it against you if you don’t.”

“I’m a member of the Sekihoutai too,” Sanosuke assured him.  “And as a member, I can’t let you do this alone, I’ll be by your place later so we can work out the details.  Until then, keep out of trouble.”  With a backwards wave of his hand Sanosuke turned and walked back home.

Katsuhiro watched him walk away with a smile.  _Sano, it’s good to know that even after all these years we will still have each other’s backs no matter what._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is yet again another fight between Kenshin and Kaoru about her being in the middle of fights, and with both of them totally misunderstanding the other's true motives behind their stance. Since they've had that argument multiple times up till now it made sense to me that sooner or later they would probably get into some big fight over it. But don't fret too much since (*SPOILER ALERT*) they won't stay mad at each other for too long.


	14. Ulterior Motivations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So notes on this first scene, it always struck me how Kaoru though young, was never married nor ever seemed to have an serious offer made prior to the start of the series. This seemed odd to me considering that samurai tended to marry young at that time period, and though her family was poor, she was still set to inherit property, so then whoever married her would one day own the dojo which would actually make her a decent catch as far as that goes (defiantly not her cooking). 
> 
> I got the idea for this first scene after my own little affair one day at the park when some creepy guy came up to me and then said 'you're pretty, wanna make out?' and that after one refusal tried to grab me a convince me to make out with him (come on guys, you don't even introduce yourselves anymore? What happened to at least buying a girl a drink before you try to feel her up? The creeps out there I swear). Fortunately he took the hint after I said 'no, you're creeping me out' and then left as fast as I could. Regardless, that incident got me thinking, what if Kaoru had a proposal made to her, and what if things had gone south, and what if that was one of the reasons why she is so determined to always stand up for herself, even when that causes issues? So after I puzzled over all of that for awhile I came up with this.

**Chapter 13**

**Ulterior Motivations**

Kaoru walked quickly down the street in the cold days of early spring with the tofu for dinner carefully balanced in her hands.  She promised her father that she would make dinner while he was spending the afternoon visiting with Master Maekawa.  The day was beautiful and Kaoru knew that she should be happy, or at least content since the war was over, her father was home, and everything was back in its proper place except for one small fact. 

Kaoru sighed unhappily, _I can’t believe in less than a week I’m going to married._   Within a few weeks of her father’s return, the Nishiyama family had approached her father offering a marriage between Kaoru and one of their sons.  The whole thing had been arranged quickly and Kaoru was spending most of her time these days seeing to the wedding preparations and barely any time with training.  _Oh stop it Kaoru,_ Kaoru told herself firmly.  _Takashi isn’t that bad, he is rather handsome, his family is influential and as Papa keeps pointing out to you, this secures your future, and they have servants so he’ll never have to eat my cooking.  You’ll never want for anything again.  This was a better match than anything you could possible hope for, so stop acting like this is the end of the world._   Kaoru ignored the fact that something about Takashi bothered her, something in his look and the way he had acted in the few times they had met while their families had discussed the particulars of the arrangement and wedding.  When she had tried to talk to her father about how she felt about the match and Takashi he remanded her how good of a match this was and she shouldn’t let the fact that she had no interest in the marriage influence her. 

 _It’s not that bad,_ Kaoru continued her daily pep talk to herself, _Tae’s married now and she’s happy.  You’ll get used to it if you give yourself a chance._   She sighed again, _of course I could just run away and be a nun, they can still practice kenjutsu right?_

Kaoru was so absorbed in her own thoughts as she took a shortcut through the bamboo forest by the river that she didn’t see Takashi Nishiyama until she was almost upon him.

“Takashi-san, I’m sorry I didn’t see you there,” Kaoru apologized as she stopped herself before she ran into him.  She tried to ignore how his clothes were made of a far finer fabric than hers making her seem like a penniless orphan in comparison.  

Takashi’s head tilted as he glanced down in slight amusement to the half tub of tofu in Kaoru’s hand that had slopped water down Kaoru’s front due to her sudden stop.  “Your dinner I presume?”  He intoned in his rich voice.

Kaoru flushed, realizing how ridiculous she must look with the front of her kimono wet.  “I-I, yes, yes it is.” She stuttered.  She glanced away from his intense gaze, it always made her feel uneasy and she couldn’t explain why.  She wondered if it had anything to do with the fact that her interactions with him were so different that she had with any other boy her own age.  She was used to the friendly jokes back and forth, this relationship was far more formal than she was used to.   “Were you waiting here for someone?” she asked, trying to fill the silence.

“Yes you, your neighbors said that you had gone to the market and I thought you might pass this way on your way back home.” 

Kaoru’s eyes snapped back to Takashi, “me?” she croaked.  “Why did you want to see to me?”  A family walked past them, loudly talking to each other and Takashi’s eyes flickered to them with disapproval.

“I would prefer to speak in private, this way,” he turned to lead the way and Kaoru remained right where she was as he walked off the path and into the forest.  He turned with some annoyance when he realized that Kaoru wasn’t following him.  “What’s wrong?” he demanded.

Kaoru gulped, she knew that eventually she would have to be alone with him but she had assumed that wouldn’t be until after the wedding.  “I really need to get this back home.  I have to cook dinner before my father gets back.”  She protested, hoping to delay this private teta-a-tete. 

Takashi’s face hardened a little, “you’ll have plenty of time for that later, now come on.”

Kaoru shifted uncomfortably, _well it’s no good making your future husband mad at you when all he wants is a quick word._   Kaoru stepped off the road and followed Takashi into the woods.  She glanced back after awhile to realize how far from the road they were.  “Don’t you think that we’re gone too far?” She asked softly, trying to ignore the absolute silence broken only by the cold wind blowing through the trees.  She shivered and she told herself that it was from the cold.

Takashi stopped and looked around, “I suppose we have.”  He turned back to Kaoru who stood several yards away from him.  “Put that tofu down and come over here, I’m not shouting across the forest.”  Kaoru glanced down at the leaf strewn forest floor.  “It won’t hurt it, just put it down already,” Takashi snapped, obviously starting to lose his patience at Kaoru’s hesitation.

Kaoru hurriedly set down the tub and shuffled over to stand in front of Takashi, her hands held in front of her.  “Sorry,” she apologized with a slight bow keeping her head down submissively.  She quickly glanced up to his face to see if he was still angry at her.  She was slightly relived to see that his lips quirked into a slight smile. 

“You move so gracefully but your manners are so awkward, like a child.” He informed her with amusement.

Kaoru bit her lip, “I’m sorry, I’ll try to be better behaved in the future.”

“I’m sure you will, once you are more comfortable with the situation of course,” he reached out and grabbed her hands, separating them and holding one in each hand, rubbing his thumbs against the back of her hands.

Kaoru took a sharp breath in and turned away, her cheeks flushing.  Her first instinct was to recoil as though from a snake but she reminded herself than in less than a week she would be his wife, and that if he wanted to hold her hands there was nothing wrong with that.  But she did feel keenly how isolated they were in this lonely spot.  “Maybe we should be getting back,” she whispered.

“Am I making you uncomfortable?” Takashi asked with a slight tip of his head, carefully studying her reactions.  Kaoru didn’t answer him but she kept her face averted.  “I don’t want to, I want to help you, help you adjust to your new position as my wife.”  He pulled her in close, releasing her hands and wrapping his arms around her.  Kaoru tensed at his embrace and his breath against her ear.  Her heart was pounding against her chest and she felt him fumbling with the knots of her obi.

“No,” Kaoru pushed herself away, clenching her hands to her chest.  “No,” she repeated shaking her head, as she took two steps backwards, her breath coming in sharp gasps.  “We’re not married yet, it’s not proper.”

Takashi’s eyebrow quirked a little in disapproval but Kaoru barely noticed as she was still avoiding his gaze.  “We are married in all but name.  You think a ceremony really makes that much of a difference?  You will be my wife and you had better learn to act like it.”  Takashi reached for her again and Kaoru reacted out of instinct born from training with a palm heel that smacked him across the cheek.

She gasped when she realized that she hit him and Takashi held his cheek, looking at her with a mix of rage and pain.  “I’m sorry,” she apologized hurriedly, realizing her mistake and dropping her guard.  “I’m sorry I didn’t mean to do that.”

Takashi reacted by backhanding her across the side of her head, hitting her ear and knocking Kaoru to her knees as she held her ear in agony.  She felt tears starting to run down her cheeks.  “I said that you will act like my wife, if you don’t than you will be punished, consider that a warning.”  Kaoru tried to hold back her sobs, closing her eyes to try and regain her composure. 

“I’m sorry,” she repeated.  “I’m really sorry.”

Takashi knelt down next to next to her, one hand on her shoulder.  “I don’t want to hurt you, if you stop fighting it won’t hurt so much,” he whispered in her good ear.  His arms slipped around her again.

“Stay away!” Kaoru screamed.  She shoved Takashi back with all her strength knocking him backwards.  She crawled backwards a short distance away from him.  Takashi’s eyes burned with rage and he leaped forward towards her.  Again Kaoru reacted out of instinct, striking with her right hand to Takashi’s throat, hitting the trachea and cause him to grab his throat, gasping for breath.  Kaoru didn’t stop for an instant, she barely even registered that for the moment at least Takashi was immobilized.  All she knew was that she was now free and this was her chance to get away.  She scrambled to her feet and started running away from the scene as fast as she could.  She didn’t even care which way she was headed, all she wanted to do was put as much ground between herself and Takashi as she could. 

Kaoru came awake flailing against the covers in her dark room gasping for air and clenching her chest, she felt around the odds and ins near the bed, disturbing Freckles who had been in the middle of a bath as she found her tanto and grasped it to her.  She kept telling herself repeatedly that it had just been a nightmare.  _He’s not here, he can’t hurt you,_ Kaoru reminded herself.  She remembered how after she had escaped from Takashi she ran until her legs gave out and she had gotten herself thoroughly lost in the woods.  She had then collapsed by a small stream and cried until she could cry no more.  Eventually she had straightened herself out, and made her way back home without the slightest sign that anything had happened, except the missing tofu. 

Kaoru laid back down in bed clenching her tanto to her chest, from that day on she never went anywhere without her tanto and it was always placed in her obi at the start of every morning.  She opened her eyes as her breathing slowed to stare at the ceiling.  _Wonder why I’m dreaming about him after all this time, I haven’t thought about in him in such a long time._

_***_

 Yahiko watched every motion of Kaoru as she carried over the small pot of rice to the table and finished setting out the food and dishes for lunch.  “Do you know where Kenshin is?” he asked hesitantly.

“Nope,” Kaoru responded indifferently as she continued to work.

“You know he didn’t come back home last night right?” Yahiko asked in worry.

“Meh,” Kaoru responded.

“And he hasn’t been back all day,” Yahiko persisted.

“Not my problem.”

“Normally you would be tearing the streets apart looking for him when he’s gone for ten minutes and didn’t tell you he was leaving.  Aren’t you in the least bit worried about where he is?”

“Frankly,” Kaoru responded as she sat down and started serving out the rice, “I don’t care where Kenshin is, I don’t care what he’s doing.  And I especially don’t care if he ever comes back.”

Yahiko took his bowel of rice and stared at it, chopsticks in hand but eating was the furthest thing from his mind at the moment.  “What were you two fighting about?” he asked in a voice barely above a whisper.

“Eat your lunch,” Kaoru told him in a hard voice.  Between her fight with Kenshin and her nightmare she was far from being in a good mood.

“But Kaoru,” Yahiko pleaded, raising his eyes to her.

“Stay out of it,” Kaoru warned him with fiery eyes.

Yahiko turned back to his food, wanting to cry but he kept it back and put on his tough act instead.  He didn’t know what was going on, or the reason behind why Kaoru was acting like she was now, or the reason why Kenshin hadn’t come back to the dojo.  He didn’t understand what they would ever fight about that would cause this kind of rift, nor did he care. All he wanted to do was fix it so that his family would be back to the way it was before.  Yahiko slowly ate his food, musing over the subject and examining it from every angle as he tried to find a solution that wouldn’t have Kaoru biting his head off. 

“You know, Tae was asking about you the other day,” He started quietly.  “Said that she had something that she bought she wanted to show you.  Maybe you should go see her today.  She’s got the day off.  I can do the chores around here while you’re gone.”  Yahiko offered.

Kaoru raised an eyebrow at the boy, “you are offering to do chores around here?”

Yahiko nodded, “yeah, just give me a list, I’ll take care of it.”  _After all it’s a small price to pay if this helps fix things between you and Kenshin.  And if anyone can get the truth out of Kaoru and help right now it’s Tae._

_***_

Sanosuke slowly opened his eyes with a yawn scratching behind his ear as he sat up.  “I wonder what…” Sanosuke trailed off in horror as he looked around his room, coming to full wakefulness in a moment. 

“Good afternoon Sanosuke,” Kenshin greeted with the slightest hint of sarcasm in his voice, from where he sat on the floor, “so pleased that you decided to finally grace the world with your presence.”

Sanosuke’s eyes kept darting around the room, taking in everything.  “Kenshin, when I let you stay here last night after the Missy kicked you out, what exactly do you think that entitled you to do?”  Sanosuke demanded.

Kenshin blinked in surprise at his friend, “oro?”

“Don’t play innocent with me, you cleaned my house!” Sanosuke roared. 

Kenshin looked at his friend as though he had lost his mind, “I thought you would like it, besides it was rather filthy and I couldn’t sleep with it like that so after you went to sleep…”

“I had the dirt exactly where I liked it!” Sanosuke thundered.  He glanced up at the corner of the room.  “And what did you do with Megumi-chan?  Did you kill her?”

Kenshin glanced up at the corner that Sanosuke was staring at, and then back to his friend, “you mean the spider that was in the corner?”

“Yeah, her name was Megumi-chan, she was a soul sucking murdering bitch who ensures her prey before draining them dry and moving on.  Just like the real thing, you kill her?  She was the best pest control I ever had.”

“I just knocked the web down.  If I had known that you had a personal connection with a spider I would have left it.”  Kenshin rolled his eyes at the way his friend was acting.

“You know what, just leave my stuff alone from now on,” Sanosuke got to his feet and started tossing things around as he searched for something.

“I just finished cleaning,” Kenshin protested.

“Well this is what happens when you move my stuff!” Sanosuke yelled.  “Now where is my spare pair of tabi?  Where on earth did you put them?”  Sanosuke moved over to the pots and jars containing food and started opening them, tossing spare bowels and pots on to the floor in frustration.

Kenshin gritted his teeth in aggravation as all his hard work of cleaning Sanosuke’s home was being destroyed.  “They’re here with your other clothes,” Kenshin informed him, opening a drawer where Sanosuke’s spare clothes had been neatly folded with the pair of tabi in question right on top.

Sanosuke turned around and snatched the tabi out of Kenshin’s hand, “that’s a silly place to put them.”

“Not for normal people it isn’t,” Kenshin retorted.

“Screw what I said last night, you can’t stay here, why don’t you go back to the dojo?”

“Hell no, I’m not going back to the dojo,” Kenshin shot back, his fists clenching at the thought.

“Well you’re not staying here, that’s for damn sure.”  Sanosuke snapped in reply. 

“You’re kicking this one out?” Kenshin demanded in shock.

“Yeah, I’m kicking you out go find someone else to mooch off of.”

Kenshin’s face twisted in anger, “fine, whatever, hope the best for you and Megumi-chan, you too really deserve each other.”  With that Kenshin grabbed his sakabato from the floor and walked out, slamming the door behind himself in anger.  For the second time in less than a day he felt like wringing something’s neck.  He set off down the street without a destination, kicking rocks out of his way, his face black with rage.  Eventually his wanderings led him outside of the busiest parts of the city and down to the river, to the little spot that he and Kaoru often visited together.  With a sigh, he sat down on the grass, his back leaning against the cherry tree and staring off into the water as it flowed past.

 _Well this is a mess that I’ve gotten myself into,_ Kenshin closed his eyes.  _What am I going to do?  I can’t go back to the dojo, Kaoru-dono and I will just keep fighting because this is the one and only thing I refuse to budge or compromise on, and she’s just as stubborn about it.  Though the heavens only know why._   Even as Kenshin struggled to find a solution to his predicament, he knew what he had to do, it was the one thing he didn’t want to but he knew that eventually Kaoru would have to know the whole story.  _If I tell Kaoru-dono the whole truth about myself and what I’ve done then she would understand why I insist on this, but if I tell her everything, will she hate me as much as I hate myself for what I did?_

Kenshin opened his eyes, feeling a heavy burden on his soul, even after all the years and so far from the place where the events took place he could still feel the sharpness of the wind on his skin numb from the cold.  The pain in his body from his wounds, the feel of his sword as he cut through a body, the rush of warm blood, and the scent of hakubaiko in the air.  Kenshin shook his head against the rush of painful memories.  _I don’t have a choice, I’ll have to tell her about Tomoe and pray that Kaoru-dono can forgive all I’ve done._

_***_

 “Kaoru, what a surprise, I didn’t know that you were coming!” Tae exclaimed in happiness as she came out to greet her friend.  “What brought you out this way?”

Kaoru blinked in astonishment, “I thought you wanted to see me?  Yahiko said that you did.”

Tae’s face narrowed in puzzlement, “I don’t recall saying anything like that, but never mind.  How have things been for you?  Tell me everything.”

 _So Yahiko tricked me into coming to see Tae because I wouldn’t tell him what was going on,_ Kaoru mentally shook her head and made a mental note that she hadn’t given Yahiko nearly enough chores before she left but that she would rectify that the moment she got back home.  Tae led her back into the house and out into the garden so they could talk in peace. 

“Here can you look after Hayate for a moment?  I’ll go and fetch the tea I was making,” Tae asked as she pulled Hayate out of the sling she wore and passed the baby to Kaoru who accepted him warmly.  Tae rushed back to the kitchen and hurriedly filled the teapot with boiling water, brewed some tea and then found a few pastries for treats, loading everything onto a tray before taking it out to the garden.  She walked out with a big smile, so happy that her friend had come to see her, but her smile faded in an instant as she walked back out to see Kaoru gently rocking Hayate with a sorrowfully look and a single tear that ran down her cheek.

“Kaoru, what’s going on?” Tae demanded in worry, setting down the tray, and watching her friend in concern.

Kaoru gave her a sad little smile, “well Kenshin and I had a fight last night.”

“Okay, what happened?” Tae asked.

Kaoru took a deep breath and quickly filled her friend in on the details of the fight.  “And ever since then he hasn’t come back to the dojo.  I don’t know where he is, or when he’s coming back, or even if he’s coming back.” Kaoru sobbed.

Tae’s lips pursed together as she turned what Kaoru had said over in her mind.  “So let me get this straight, you two fought because Kenshin doesn’t want you to put yourself in danger anymore and you don’t agree with that?”

“That’s not exactly what we fought about,” Kaoru corrected.

“Well then what exactly was the fight about?  Because that’s what I understood from what you said,” Tae replied with a hint of irritation in her voice.

“It was more about how he always put’s himself in danger and tries to keep me out of it.”  Kaoru explained again.

“Because he doesn’t want to put you into danger.”

“Exactly.  And then as if that wasn’t enough he called me incompetent.”  Kaoru still felt a sting of pain at that thought.

Tae licked her lips, “he didn’t really call you incompetent, you were the one who mentioned it.  He only said that you could think what you wanted.”

Kaoru’s head drew back in surprise, “you’re defending him?”

“I believe I just did,” Tae responded with a straight face.

Kaoru’s mouth opened in surprise, “I can’t believe you would defend him in this situation.”

 _And I can’t believe that for the first time in years you’re finally acting like a girl, and not in a good way,_ Tae thought uncharitably.  “I don’t see anything wrong in what he’s asking.  In fact, I think he’s the one who’s right in this situation and you’re not.”

“What?” Kaoru gasped.

“You heard me,” Tae told her in a hard voice.  “You’re acting like a spoiled child who has to have everything your own way.  A wonderful man has walked into your life who hasn’t gone running for the hills even with the horrible way you treat him at times.  He does every little thing you ask of him and more with a smile on his face, never complaining.  And the one little thing that he refuses to let you boss him around about, is that he wants to make sure that you aren’t in danger.  And what is so wrong about that Kaoru?  What is so wrong with having a man want to protect you, to take care of you?  Perhaps you could explain that to me?”

Kaoru gulped, “that’s not what this is about.”

“Then what is this about?”

Kaoru glanced down, “it’s not about not want to let him take care of me, that part I don’t mind, it’s just that…” Kaoru trailed off uncomfortably, feeling Tae’s hard eyes on her.  “It’s just I’m afraid that if I don’t act tougher then I might lose him like Papa…”  _At least I think that’s all there is to it._ She looked up at Tae, expecting to see sympathy but all she got was a raised eyebrow. 

“Is that all?” Tae asked in a hard tone. 

Kaoru blinked at her, “what else would there be?”

Tae’s face softened a little, she remembered the girl that Kaoru used to be, she never let anyone best her in the dojo but outside of it she tended to take the more submissive role when around men, except when someone was in trouble of course.  Until Takashi.  “Kaoru do you think that, _possibly_ , you might not want to give into Kenshin because you father drilled into your head to never let anyone get the upper hand with you after, well after that day with Nishiyama-san.  I know you say that it doesn’t bother you anymore, but well…”

Kaoru tensed at the sound of his name, especially after her nightmare about what had happened.  She looked away, not wanting to admit how much the affair had affected her.  “I don’t know, maybe.  Maybe that’s why I dreamed about that last night,” she whispered.

“Does Kenshin know what he did?”

Kaoru shook her head, “No, I’ve never even told Kenshin about him.”

“Doesn’t he wonder why you’re not married?” Tae asked in surprise.

Kaoru shrugged, “if he has, he’s never asked.”

They were both silent for a moment before Tae finally broke the silence, “Kaoru I know that losing your father the way you did affected you deeply and whether you want to admit it or not Nishiyama-san affected you just as much.  After all, you never used to talk back and challenge men like you do now except while in a dojo.  And I know you never want to let a man get the better of you because of him.  But in this one matter you really need to be honest with Kenshin and yourself.  After all you already said that you wouldn’t mind him taking care of you.  And besides, maybe you should also ask yourself why Kenshin, who normally lets you get your way in everything, is being so stubborn about this as well.  I think he must have a _very_ good reason for the way he’s acting.  And honey, you really do need to tell him about Nishiyama-san.”

Kaoru sighed, “you’re probably right.”

“Of course I’m right.”  Tae told her in a matter-of-fact voice.  “I’m always right.”  Kaoru gave her a look.  “Always, just ask my husband.”

***

Kenshin continued to watch the river flowing past as afternoon turned into early evening.  Downstream of him on the other side of the river a man was fishing, a large straw hat hiding his face as he spent most of the afternoon slowly filling the bucket he had brought with him.  Kenshin figured it was a poor laborer trying to supplement his home’s food supply.  The thought of food made his stomach start rumbling and he realized that he would have to stop procrastinating, go back to the dojo, and have a heart to heart with Kaoru.  Even though the subject of that talk would be the last thing he ever wanted to relive.  He heard the crunch of footsteps approaching and he turned his head to face the newcomer.

“Hey Kenshin,” Kaoru intoned softly with downcast eyes. 

“Kaoru-dono,” Kenshin jumped to his feet, his eyes cast away from her.

“Kenshin I have something to say to you,” Kaoru started.

“Kaoru-dono, this one has to tell you something,” Kenshin replied at the same time.  They both cut off with a flush and were silent for a moment.

“So what were you saying Kenshin?” Kaoru offered.  Her eyes meeting Kenshin’s face for the first time since the conversation had began.

“Oh no Kaoru-dono you first,” Kenshin replied in a rush, anything to delay what he had to say, they smiled awkwardly at each other before turning their faces away from the other.

“Kenshin have you ever wondered why I’ve never been married?” Kaoru asked.  Kenshin glanced at Kaoru in surprise, this was not what he expected to talk about.  He shook his head and Kaoru raised an eyebrow at him.  “Really, you’ve never wondered how a girl who was set to inherit a dojo ended up an old spinster?  Be honest.”

Kenshin made an awkward face, “okay I’ve wondered, but I knew better than to ask.”

Kaoru bit her lip and looked away, “well the truth is that I was betrothed once, the offer was made to my father not long after he got home.  And everything was set in place and going along normally.  I wasn’t too keen on the match, but Papa was, especially since it was a far finer family than you would normally expect with our situation.  So I just went along with things until just a week before the marriage when…” Kaoru trailed off taking a breath to steady herself as she poured out to Kenshin how Takashi had lured her out to the woods, attacked her, and how she had managed to get away.  “When I got home I didn’t know what to do, there was no proof of what happened, we were betrothed and all, and well I just didn’t know what to say or if I should say anything.”

“Once Papa got home I did ask him that if Takashi wasn’t the person that we all thought he was if I would still have to go through with the marriage.  I was then given the royal lecture about familial obligation and what was expected of me.  And basically, shut my mouth and just marry him.  So I kept quiet, though from that moment on I’ve always carried my tanto no matter what.  The night before the wedding I couldn’t take it anymore, I knew I couldn’t go through with it so I ran away.  I didn’t know where to go or who would believe me.  Tae had recently gotten married at that time so the next morning while she was working at the Akebeko she found me hidden in the back, I had slipped in that morning when no one had been paying attention.  She listened to my story and kept me hidden.”

“A couple days later she went to Papa, who from what she said was beside himself in anger that I would embarrass him and myself by running away before the wedding.  She convinced him to hear my story out first before punishing me.  He didn’t say a word when I finished telling him what happened, he just told me to follow him, and instead of taking me home, we went to the Nishiyama’s home.  I thought he was going to make me apologize or something like that, but instead he confronted Takashi with what he did, he denied it of course but Papa didn’t seem to care, he challenged him to a fight instead.”

“Of course Papa during the fight disarmed Takashi and knocked him to the ground.  He said something to him, I didn’t hear what it was, but it seemed to make Takashi scared though, part of it had to be to hold out his hands because he did and Papa cut his hands off.”  Kaoru shuddered a little at that part, trying to block the memory of Takashi’s scream of pain and the sight of blood.  “Papa told him that ‘now he can no longer touch his daughter with those filthy hands,’ after that Papa basically drilled into my head that if anyone ever attacked me again that I should never apologize for hitting them and to well, break every bone in his body if I get the chance.  As you can imagine I never got another offer of marriage, somehow cutting the hands off of a prospective husband kind of puts a damper on marriage offers.”

 _That bastard probably only lived because Master Koshijiro wouldn’t kill him in front of Kaoru._   It was the only reason Kenshin could think of Koshijiro letting the man continued to breath, though Kenshin felt a certain amount of satisfaction knowing that Kaoru’s attacker would live out the rest of his days as a cripple because of what he had done.  Kenshin did have a few ideas of what Koshijiro had said to Takashi, it was probably similar to what Kenshin would have said had the situation been reversed.  Now he understood even better why Koshijiro would train his daughter to see her so as equal to a man in every respect and be so confident in challenging them.  After all that was far from proper decorum for a woman of her class, but considering the circumstances Kenshin would probably have done the same.

“And his family did not retaliate for this?” Kenshin asked softly.

Kaoru shook her head, “Papa said they wouldn’t and they never really did.  Whatever he said to Takashi I guess.  Even after Papa died and then several years later Takashi killed himself, his family has never done anything about what happened, while they have said a few unkind things about me but that’s all.”

He felt anger at this unknown man and a certain sense of justice knowing that he could no longer hurt anyone, especially Kaoru, again.  “So do you…?  I mean, has this one every made you, well made you uncomfortable?” Kenshin asked gently, it was the best way he could phase his question.

“Heavens no,” Kaoru assured him a rush.  “It’s nothing like that, besides we all know that with a bad wrist and a branch I can still beat you to within an inch of your life,” she joked nervously, referring to Kenshin’s first night at the dojo.  “It’s just that part of what Papa drilled into me was to never back down so that I wouldn’t react like that again if I was ever in a similar situation.  And I’m thinking that when it comes to this whole thing of you wanting me to stay out of a dangerous situation that it’s not just worry that something will happen to you, but that I don’t want to show any weakness and that’s silly because I know that no matter what you’d never hurt me.”  Kaoru took a deep breath.  “So I’ve decided that I’ll do it, I’ll take the sidelines in a fight.   But,” Kaoru injected with a firm voice, “only when there’s someone else capable who can step up, and Yahiko doesn’t count, you and Sanosuke sure.  That’s my offer, is it good enough?”

Kenshin’s face lightened a little.  “Thank you Kaoru-dono,” he bowed his head a little to her.  “And,” he started, not sure exactly how to phase what he wanted to say, feeling the delicateness of the situation.  “If you ever feel this one puts you in an unpleasant situation…”

“I’ll just slap you silly,” Kaoru interrupted him with a little smile.  “And Kenshin, stop walking on egg shells, I know I’m safe around you.  You don’t have to act different just because of what happened to me five years ago.  That was a long time ago after all.”

Kenshin smiled softly at her, “so then everything is all right between us?”

Kaoru’s smile widened and she shrugged a little, “it is if you want it to be.  Personally, I hate fighting with you.”

“The feeling is mutual,” Kenshin assured her stepping forward, holding out one hand which Kaoru took gratefully and gave Kenshin a hug.

“Next time let’s stick to fighting about little things like what a brat Yahiko is,” Kaoru teased in Kenshin’s ear.

“This one was thinking your cooking would be a better topic,” Kenshin teased right back, allowing himself to relax a little.  Kaoru drew back with an affronted look and gave him a halfhearted backhand on the shoulder, one hand still in his.

“That’s not funny Kenshin,” Kaoru told him firmly but her face was bright and happy.

“Well you can let this one know what would be suitable topics for us to argue about on the way home,” Kenshin informed her.  He thought for a moment about telling Kaoru about Tomoe but dismissed the idea at once, feeling that this wasn’t the time or place for that. 

“Sounds like a plan,” Kaoru answered cheerfully, letting Kenshin lead the way home, she thought for a second about asking Kenshin what he had wanted to tell her but dismissed the idea, figuring it was only that he had wanted to plead his case with her and since the matter was settled it would be a moot point.

The happy couple started on their way back home, neither paying much attention to the fisherman across the river, but unknown to them the fisherman had spent the entire time watching them.  As they walked away he lifted his head, reveling his piercing eyes.  _Well they seem to have settled their disagreement,_ he thought to himself.  _And she appears to mean a lot to him.  I’ve been watching for weeks and haven’t seen the slightest trace of the man that I once knew in Kyoto, perhaps he has lost his edge.  But if that is the case, then she might be the key to bringing out the Hitokiri._  

He gathered up his things, picking up his bucket of fish, he saw no reason to waste good food as he prepared to make his own way home.  _But the question of the Battosai will have to wait for another moment, it is time to move on to my real assignment, the overthrowing of the government._

_***_

Kaoru and Kenshin turned the corner laughing when they came across Sanosuke pacing the street counting.  They stopped for a moment as he counted the number of steps from some unknown location to one side of the street, shook his head, retraced his steps and picked a different route, taking up his count again.

“Oh hey guys, see you made up,” Sanosuke greeted with a quick glance to see them still holding hands as he spun around and realized that he had an audience.  “Oh by the way Kenshin sorry about earlier, I’m a bit of a grouch first thing in the morning.” 

“It was two o’clock in the afternoon and Sano, what are you doing?” Kenshin asked in confusion.  He had completely forgotten about the earlier fight with Sanosuke, he was far too happy that things had been resolved between him and Kaoru.

“Nothing,” Sanosuke replied.  “Oh hey Missy, you’ve lived in this area for a while right?”

“My whole life yes,” Kaoru responded with a bewildered look on her face.

“So what route would you suggest when you’re trying to make your way downtown but you don’t want too direct of a route, you know more a scenic tour but without seeming like it’s a scenic tour.  You know where you think that it’s a short cut but it’s really not a short cut but you can definitely fool someone into thinking that it’s a shortcut.”

“What?!” Kaoru exclaimed.  “Have you been drinking?”

“Not in a couple of hours,” Sanosuke shrugged, “never mind, I think I’ve got it worked out, so anyways, dinner.  Dinner?”  He looked between the two of them.

“Sano, you’re starting to worry this one,” Kenshin told his friend.

“You’re doubting my sanity?” Sanosuke retorted with a roll of his eyes before he turned and walked through the gate of the dojo.

“What just happened here?” Kaoru asked perplexed.

“I’m not sure,” Kenshin answered.  They looked at each with equally confused expressions, shook their heads, and followed Sanosuke into the dojo.  Despite attempts from both of them, Sanosuke refused to explain his latest behavior to either of them as dinner was prepared and served.  At the end of dinner, as they were all relaxing in the common room talking about ends and ins, Sanosuke stood up abruptly. 

“Hey guys, what are your thoughts on a party?”  Sanosuke asked with his hands tucked into his pockets.

“A party?” Kenshin repeated.

“Yeah, I was thinking that we needed to loosen up a bit and have a good time.  Besides I thought it would be a great time for you guys to meet my friend Katsuhiro.  So how ‘bout it Kenshin?”  Sanosuke directed towards his friend. 

“This one has no objective to a party,” Kenshin started with a happy smile, “however…”

“Throwing a party and finding the money to pay for it are two totally different things,” Kaoru finished with a sour look on her face.

“You make it sound like it’s so easy,” Yahiko added, his face matching Kaoru’s. 

“And that’s how it is,” Kenshin concluded, never losing his smile.

“I can take care of the money,” Sanosuke shrugged with his typically care free attitude.

“Really Sano?” Yahiko asked with a raised eyebrow.

“You’re gonna mooch it off of me aren’t you?” Kaoru gasped with a flush of anger.  “Well the answer is no! Never!  I still haven’t seen the money you’ve already borrowed from me!”

“Don’t get so excited,” Sanosuke scoffed.  “I’ll take care of the money, don’t worry about it.”

“So you are going to try and put this on your tab at the Akebeko?” Kaoru shook her head.  “I feel sorry for Tae.”

“Naw let’s have it here,” Sanosuke replied.

“In the dojo?” Yahiko asked.

“Yeah,” Sanosuke answered.  “That way we can go as late as we want and no one can complain.”

“Well I guess that’s okay,” Kaoru replied, completely taken off guard with Sanosuke’s offer.

Great,” Sanosuke rubbed his hands together.  “So how about this time next week?  That work for you guys?”

“Umm yeah, that should be okay,” Kenshin piped up.

“It’s set then, don’t worry about the details, I’ll take care of everything.”  Sanosuke turned with a wave of his hand, stopping briefly at the door.  “Oh and can you invited Tae and Yahiko’s girl?  And Doctor Gensei and his family too.  Megumi can come as well.  The more the merrier.”  With that Sanosuke left the house leaving three very confused people behind him.

“Did Sano just offer to pay for something?” Yahiko gasped.

“And invite Megumi to it?” Kaoru added in the same tone.  “All those two ever do is fight like cats and dogs.”

“You think he’s sick or something?” Yahiko asked.  He looked to the others for answers.

“Well there was that way he was acting earlier,” Kaoru thought about the scene they had witnessed before dinner.  “Kenshin, any thoughts?”

“Maybe he’s just happy that the whole business with that false Sekihoutai is over,” he offered.

“Maybe,” Kaoru mused.  “But what was with the counting in the street?”

Kenshin saw that both Yahiko and Kaoru were looking at him as though he held the answer to all of Sanosuke’s behavior.  He shrugged his shoulders at them, “that’s all this one can think of.”  _What do they think I am?  A physic?_

“Well I guess we’re having a party next week,” Kaoru concluded.  “We’re not really sure why, but we’re having a party.”

***

Sanosuke finished off his saki cup, “so that’s all there is to it.”  He surveyed the blueprints again for the Department of the Interior for what seemed like the hundredth time, he was pretty sure that by this point he could duplicate it blindfolded.  “I can handle that.”

“So no questions?” Katsuhiro asked.

“Well I do have one but it’s totally unrelated to the plan,” Sanosuke proposed.  Katsuhiro raised an eyebrow.  “You have any plans for earlier that evening?”

“Why?” Katsuhiro asked.

“Because I figured before throwing everything away I give the friends I have now a proper good bye.  I’m throwing them a party that evening, they think it’s for you.  So what do you say?”

Katsuhiro’s first reaction was to politely decline.  He really didn’t relish the idea of spending time in the company of others but after looking at Sanosuke’s face he realized how much this meant to his friend.  _Unlike me, he is going to lose a lot with this plan.  The least I can do is try and make this as easy as possible for him._   “All right, if that’s what you want.”

“Great!” Sanosuke beamed.  “You get to be the guest of honor.  You’re going to like these people, they’re all crazy as can be.  Oh, and just a word of warning, the woman that will be there, don’t cross any of them.”

“Speaking from experience?” Katsuhiro asked in slight amusement.

“Just take my advice,” Sanosuke answered with a knowing look.  “Oh, and speaking of the party, I said I would pay for it but I’m running a little short at the moment, do you think that…”

He wasn’t even given a chance to finished before Katsuhiro pulled out his purse and tossed the whole thing to him.

“You’re giving me your whole wallet?” Sanosuke asked in surprised, Katsuhiro nodded before picking up his saki cup again.  Sanosuke opened the pouch and whistled at its contents.  “Wow famous artists like you really do have it made.  Don’t worry I’ll pay you back when I have a chance.”

“I won’t hold my breath,” Katsuhiro sipped on his saki.

Sanosuke gave him a look but decided to let it drop, after all he had bigger things in mind.  “Well I’ll come by before the party and we can go together.  Try not be your usual gloomy self.”

“No promises,” Katsuhiro retorted and with a snort Sanosuke walked out of Katsuhiro’s home and made his way, not back home, but back to the dojo. 

He had no intention of seeing Kenshin or the others.  Instead he continued his work of earlier which was counting the number of steps from the gate of the dojo to the bridge near the main thoroughfares of town.  He figured from that point on Katsuhiro would know the way and would know when Sanosuke lead him on a detour to kill time.  But he was fairly certain that Katsuhiro had never been in the residential maze where Kaoru lived. 

He retraced his steps, first measuring the distance of the most direct route and then the three detour routes that he had been planning out earlier.  Once he had retraced his steps from earlier and mapped out the routes in the dark he returned to the gates of the dojo as midnight approached.  He waited in the shadows until three figures were seen heading towards him.

Sanosuke stepped out of the shadows to address the newcomers.  “Geniji, Tomo, Shu, is that you?”

“Sano, you said that you had something important you wanted us to help with?”  Tomo asked.

Sanosuke grinned even though he knew that his friends couldn’t see it in the darkness.  “Yep big favor, it’s simple, we’re going to have a race.  You guys know where the Department of the Interior is?”

“Why are we having a race to the Department of the Interior?” Shu asked in confusion.

“Because each of you gets a jug of saki for participating and the winner gets a little extra so that he can share the rest of the night with better company than a bunch of drunken men, that’s why.”  Sanosuke answered, rattling the bag of coins that Katsuhiro gave him earlier. 

That caused the three of them straighten up immediately.  “So from here to the Department?  No problem, you just give the signal and we’ll start.”  Geniji piped up as the three lined up, ready to run at the signal from Sanosuke.

“Not so fast, at the beginning each of you gets a different route, after that you can take whatever way you think the fastest to the main gates of the Department.  We’ll take a minute for me to show each of you your route and then I give the signal, we clear?”  Sanosuke cut in.

“Why do we have to take different routes?  That makes no sense,” Shu questioned. 

“Where’s the fun without a little challenge?”  Sanosuke laughed.  “Come on Geniji I’ll show you you’re route first.”  With that, Sanosuke one by one showed each of them the possible detours that he had mapped out before they all returned to the dojo.  “Okay everybody ready?”  Sanosuke asked as the men crouched at the unspoken starting line.

He guessed from the crouched positions and the slight head nods that they were ready.  Sanosuke glanced up at the sky as the waning moon was hidden behind a cloud.  “All right, when the moon comes out from behind that cloud that’s the signal.”

The men waited breathlessly, the tension could be cut with a knife, most of the men ran for the money Sanosuke promised.  Sanosuke had an ulterior motive, he wanted to see which of the men came in last.

The moment the moon came out from behind the cloud, all four men took off running down the street, splitting at the different intersections as they took their different routes.  Sanosuke on the other hand continued on the fastest and most direct route.  He pounded past some late pedestrians and knocked over a policeman in his rush.  He could hear the sound of the police whistle behind him from the affronted officer but Sanosuke continued his mad race with a laugh, knowing that they would never catch him.  The cool night air whipped past his face as he leaped down a wall to the walkway below and rushed over bridges and past the sleeping shops.  He made his way across town from the dark to sparsely lit streets to where the buildings started spreading out and were replaced by more and more government and official buildings and the streets were well lit. 

After turning a few corners, he came skidding to a halt not far from the well-guarded gates of the Department of the Interior.  The moment that he came skidding to a halt he started counting slowly, trying to keep the same pace as he counted how many seconds it took for the others to join him.  At the count of fifty-three Tomo joined him with a flush face. 

“Hey am I really the first one?” He asked in excitement.

Sanosuke nodded but kept counting to himself, Shu came in at the count of seventy-five grumbling about some stupid cat.  But the winner (at least in Sanosuke’s mind) was Geniji who came in at the grand count of one hundred and four.

“Oh damn it,” Geniji swore in disgust.  “I thought for sure that I would beat one of you at least.”

“Well the winner is Tomo, now we better get out of here before those soldiers ask what the hell we’re doing here,” Sanosuke announced with a laugh.

“Can’t believe Tomo won, he’s the slowest one of us all.”  Shu grumbled.

“Eat my dust,” Tomo laughed, imaging just what girl he would like to spend the rest of the night with.  Sanosuke followed them as they made their way to the red-light district.  For the first time since he had reunited with Katsuhiro he felt like celebrating.  _The plan’s in place, I’ve got everything all ready for it.  Now I just have to wait until the right moment and then I spring the trap on Katsuhiro.  Too bad I can’t let the other’s in on the real reason for all of this.  But doing that would probably ruin everything.  But whatever, tonight I get to celebrate.  I just have to remember to leave enough money to pay for the party._


	15. The Equivocal Celebration

**Chapter 14**

**The Equivocal Celebration**

Shibumi sat sipping some plum wine in his office with a messenger as he gave his report.  “More of the Council members are deciding to join Saigo and declare war with Korea.  Ashikaga is a problem though.  He wields enough power on the council that he is delaying our plan.”  Shibumi stated to the messenger.  “But I have been doing my part to turn the other members one by one. There are a few that will not be convinced.  But most of those will not be an obstacle.”

“And the ones who will be?” The messenger asked taking a sip of his wine and staring intently at Shibumi. 

Shuimui smiled wickedly.  “I have my own team of assassins who can deal with that as needed.  And I’m in the process of recruiting another who will be _more_ than useful if it works out.  Don’t worry about a thing, as long as Kido and Okubo don’t return to Japan soon, everything will work out.  And they are not expected back for weeks.  Japan will go to war with Korea and will lose.  The country will be weakened greatly and then it will be child’s play for our leader, Shishio, to carry out his vision.”

“Just see to it that you do your part and you will be well compensated,” the messenger stood up abruptly, setting down his cup and pulling a large money bag filled to the brim with gold and laid it on the desk, “for your continued service,” with that the messenger bowed and left.

Shibumi picked up the bag greedily and started counting its contents with a widening grin.  _The whole country is doomed anyways, might as well get all I can out of it and then settle down in some quiet little corner of the world as Japan burns again in the flames Shishio will bring._

_***_

Kaoru read the story in the paper for the second time, her face narrowed in worry as she chewed on her fingernails.

“What’s got you all worked up Kaoru?” Yahiko asked as he looked up from where he was sweeping the porch.  

“It’s just about these talks with Korea.  They are saying that we might end up going to war with them soon.”  Kaoru kept chewing on her fingernail.

“Korea?  Where’s that?” Yahiko asked.

Kaoru resisted the urge to face palm at yet another example of Yahiko’s lack of education.  She set her paper down and stared crossly at Yahiko.  “Korea is a country that is part of the mainland, its north of China on a small peninsula, next to Mongolia.  Are you really that ignorant or are you just trying to annoy me?”

Yahiko was saved from responding by Kenshin walking into the yard with a big basket filled with vegetables picked from the garden.  “The garden is doing well that it is, we will have a good lunch, that we will.”  He informed them all with a happy smile.  He glanced around, picking up the mood, from Kaoru’s annoyed expression to Yahiko’s scrawl at being called ignorant.  “What did this one miss?”  he asked in confusion.

“Kenshin do you really think that we will go to war with Korea?” Kaoru asked instead, her face turning back to worry. 

Kenshin’s face turned serious as he mused over it, “this one is not sure Kaoru-dono, there are many things at play in this situation.”  _Saigo’s reaction is well expected from what I remember from the time we met.  But war will be averted if Katsura-sensei and Okubo-sama return in time though.  They will never allow this war to take place.  The country has not recovered from the revolution yet and there is no way we could stand as a nation against Korea.  Besides this matter is best dealt with by diplomacy, the use of force here is unnecessary._  “You shouldn’t worry about these things Kaoru-dono,” Kenshin told her cheerfully, his face brightening.  “Things will work out for the best, that they will.  And worrying about things one cannot change does no good at all.”  Kenshin turned to take his pickings into the kitchen and start working on preparing them for lunch.

“Kenshin!” Kaoru called behind him as she hopped down from the porch and joined him in the kitchen.  “So you’re not worried at all about the situation?” she asked in disbelief.  She was sure that with his pacifist nature he would be upset with the way the talks with Korea were going. 

“There is not much that we can do about it, that there is not.  And besides tonight we are having the party with Sano, we can worry about such things tomorrow.”

“That’s another topic that worries me,” Kaoru mused.  “I mean Sanosuke, treating us, to a party?  Doesn’t that make you wonder just a bit?  First off, where is the money coming from?  Second of all, what are his real motives for throwing a party and inviting everyone he knows on the right side of the law to it?  Especially Megumi, I have no idea why he would want her along.”

“I’m sure he has his reasons, perhaps he truly wants to celebrate finding his old friend,” Kenshin offered helpfully.  In truth, the matter had been brothering him and for the past week he had been trying to get to the bottom of Sanosuke erratic behavior of late but to no avail.  Sanosuke’s other friends had no more ideas than Kenshin.  Whatever was going on, Sanosuke was playing it very close to his chest. 

Kaoru’s eyebrows shot up, “are you really that naive or do you think I am?”

Kenshin sighed, “we will just have to wait and see, perhaps we are making a bigger deal of this than it is.”  _But knowing Sano…  Probably not._

Kaoru looked away, “maybe, but I still think we should keep a close eye on Sanosuke tonight.”

“Kaoru-dono,” Kenshin told her in a stern voice.  “There is no need for such things.  Sanosuke knows well enough to stay out of any real trouble.  You do not need to watch him like a child, that you don’t.”

Kaoru looked at him with slightly pursed lips, “I don’t need to watch him?” she questioned.  “Does that mean you were already planning on keeping Sanosuke under close watch tonight?”

“Kaoru-dono, would I ever do such a thing?” Kenshin asked with an overly innocent expression.  Kaoru stared at him for a moment before she smiled at him and Kenshin returned that smile. 

“Perhaps you’re right.  Sanosuke can look to his own affairs.  I’ll stay out of it,” Kaoru told him with a twinkle in her eye knowing that Kenshin would be on the case for the night.  “Well while you are working on lunch I’m just going to run out to the flower stand and pick something up to make a nice arrangement for the party tonight.  I’ll be back,” Kaoru waved as she left the kitchen and made her way to the flower stand. 

She hummed happily to herself as she picked out blossoms from among the selections, trying to imagine the arrangement she could make with the different colors.  Finally settling on her selections, they were tied up with a cord while she paid and started back home.  She was so lost in her happy thoughts about the party that when she turned a sharp corner she ran straight into the person on the other side. 

“Oh I’m so sorry,” Kaoru apologized, she looked up to the man’s face that she ran into and she smiled in recognition.  “Oh it’s you, Akio-san, Tami’s brother right?  We had tea together once, I’m Kaoru Kamiya, do you remember?”

“You had best watch where you are going next time,” Akio told her coldly with a slight bow as he turned to walk off.

“Is something wrong?” Kaoru asked.  When they met, she remembered Akio being far more friendly towards her. 

Akio turned his head stiffly back to her.  “With all due respect, when I first met you I believed you to be a woman of virtue, but now I know the truth and I refuse to have any further interactions with a woman like you.” With that he went his way leaving a very stunned Kaoru behind him.

 _What the hell did he just say?_   Kaoru looked around at the crowds of people going about their day as though one of them held the answer. 

***

 “Hello there!” Tae called out as she stepped into the kitchen.  “Hello Kenshin-san, how are you today?” she asked with a polite bow.

Kenshin looked up to Tae who held her son in her arms, “very well Tae-dono, and how are things with you?”

“Very well,” Tae beamed at him.  She glanced at Kenshin’s lunch preparations, “would you like any help?” she asked politely.

Kenshin shook his head, “this one is finished, all that is left is to set the table.” 

“Well I can help with that at least,” Tae offered.  She walked over to where the floor cushions were stored and laid one on the floor and carefully sat the sleeping Hayate on it as she helped Kenshin to pull down the dishes and place the cushions at the table in preparation for lunch.  “So is Kaoru around?” Tae asked with a sideways look.

“Oh no, she went out to pick up some flowers for an arrangement for tonight,” Kenshin informed her.  “She should be back soon though.”

“Well that’s probably for the best then,” Tae frowned a little as she sat chopsticks at each place, “I came over to help get things ready for the party but I also wanted to talk to you Kenshin, without Kaoru hearing.”

Kenshin stopped setting things out and looked intently at Tae, “is something wrong?”

Tae looked away uncomfortably.  “Well there have been some rumors going around about Kaoru, and if you haven’t heard about it yet I wanted to give you some warning.”

“What rumors?” Kenshin asked intently.

“Did Kaoru tell you about Nishiyama-san?” Tae countered.

“Yes she told this one, why is the Nishiyama family behind the rumors?”  Kenshin asked in concern, stopping in his task of setting the table. 

Tae shrugged, “hard to say who started it really.  In matters like this you can never be sure.  Maybe it was them, maybe it was the other side of the Kamiya family hoping to disgrace Kaoru.  I do know that both of them are continuing the spread of the rumor though.  But it could also be a group of very vengeful people who like to tell stories with no evidence.”  Tae sighed and looked up to Kenshin.  “The rumors are that Kaoru is, well she is not a virtuous as she claims and that you’re not just a border here, some even go as far as wondering how Kaoru could have afforded to keep the place so long without students.”

Kenshin felt his chest swell a little in indignation that anyone would say such things about Kaoru.  “That is not the case, Kaoru is an honorable woman,” Kenshin defended in a rush.

“Oh I know that,” Tae assured him in a rush.  “Believe me when I say that everyone who knows you two know there is no truth to the rumors, but you know how people are.  They love to talk and the juicy the story the more they love it.  I just wanted you to know about the situation, and maybe try to keep this from Kaoru as long as we can.  It would just upset her and unfortunately there is little that can be done when rumors like this get started.  In fact, the more they get protested the more their believed.”

Kenshin looked away, “yes your right, the damage has been done.  And people will not change their mind in such things easily.”  _Even when they are wrong._ They finished setting the table in silence before Tae finally broke it with a smile.

“You know Kenshin-san, you really are the best thing that’s ever happened to Kaoru.  She’s waited a long time for someone like you to come into her life.  I know you’ll make her a wonderful husband.”  Kenshin looked at Tae in slight surprise at her frank words. 

“About time for a break.  Why does Kaoru insist on cleaning every nook and cranny before the party anyways?  It’s not like all these people aren’t here on a daily basis anyways,” Yahiko grumbled as he walked into the kitchen, effectively breaking the mood Tae’s words had cast. 

“Oh Yahiko,” Kenshin greeted hesitantly.  “Lunch will be served as soon as Kaoru-dono gets back from her errand.”

“What?” Yahiko wined.

Kenshin fortunately was spared from having to listen to Yahiko’s protest by Kaoru walking into the kitchen with an armful of flowers, placing them distractedly into a bucket, completely oblivious to Tae and Kenshin’s greeting.

“Kaoru-dono?” Kenshin asked in worry stepping to her side and placing an arm on her shoulder.  “Is everything all right?”

Kaoru looked in surprise, suddenly realizing that everyone was there and things were set for lunch.  “Oh yes, everything all right.  Is lunch ready?  I’m starving.”  With a forced laugh she sat down at the table as Tae joined them with her son cradled in one arm.  Yahiko needed no persuading as he was sitting at the table in an instant, chopsticks in hand, ready to eat.

***

 “Yahiko we need some more cleaning cloths I think there are a few in my bedroom in the closet on the left-hand side, go fetch them will you?” Kaoru asked as with the help of Tae and Kenshin they were in the process of cleaning/decorating the main room of the house in preparation for the party.

Yahiko made a face as he shuffled off, all he wanted was to be able to sit down and not be forced into any more work that day.  He headed back into Kaoru’s room and opened her closet looking around for the cloths Kaoru said would be in there.  In the back, hidden behind some boxes of carefully stored clothes he saw a long round red leather case.  He glanced around to make sure he was alone before he reached for the case, wondering what was inside. 

Kaoru looked around after a few minutes, “what’s taking that boy so long?” she wondered aloud.  In frustration she walked back to her room.  Kenshin and Tae’s heads spun around as they heard Kaoru scream, “What do you think you’re doing!”

Kenshin and Tae dropped what they were doing and headed to back to Kaoru’s room to find an irritated Kaoru, her hands on her hips as she surveyed a very guilty looking Yahiko holding a sheathed katana in his hands. _Where did that come from?_   Kenshin wondered.  The only katana he knew of in the house was the one in the dojo that had been her father’s.

 “Well I’m waiting Yahiko,” Kaoru tapped her foot impatiently.

Yahiko glanced at Kenshin and Tae and hoped that with witnesses Kaoru wouldn’t kill him.  “I just went looking for those cloths like you said.”

“That is not a cleaning cloth Yahiko,” Kaoru pointed out.

Yahiko glanced down at the sword in his hand, “well then I found this in that case and I was just wondering what it was doing in there and all.”

Kaoru snatched the katana away from Yahiko and opened the first part of the blade to make sure everything was in place.  She snapped it close, glaring at Yahiko.  “Do you know what this is?” she asked in a deathly whisper.

“A katana?” Yahiko supplied.

Kaoru tipped her head at him, her expression speaking volumes at Yahiko’s ignorance.  “It’s a Muramusa blade you blockhead.”

Kenshin let out a whistle, “an authentic Muramusa blade?”

Kaoru nodded, “it’s authentic, it bears mirror image hamon and the fish-belly shape of the nakago.  I’ve check to be sure.”

 _Master gave me a Muramusa blade,_ Kenshin remembered.  It was the sword he used throughout the war.  And it was now rusted on the bottom of the river in Kyoto.  “How did you come by such a sword Kaoru-dono?”  Kenshin asked in amazement.  _After all, such swords have been banned for over two hundred years with death to any who processed them._

Kaoru shrugged.  “Papa brought it back from the war, he got it from some descent of the Muramusa’s who had kept it safe.”  She kept the rest of the story to herself, how it had originally been the thing her father was going to present to her for her fifteen birthday and her obtaining mastership in Kamiya Kasshin-ryu.  And she especially kept the letter she had discovered in the case from her father telling the whole story of the blade and why he was giving it to her. 

“What’s a Muramusa blade?” Tae asked innocently.  Yahiko felt a rush of relief that someone asked the question on his own mind.

“A very rare blade these days, that they are,” Kenshin answered.  “They were banned by Tokyawa Ieyasu over two hundred years ago because of the carnage they wroth then to the Tokyagawa.  Before the Meiji era, to process such a blade was a death sentence on the owner.  That is because they are blades of extraordinary sharpness that are said to thirst for blood and that blood must be spilt before they can be resheathed and they drive their owners either towards murder or seppuku to satisfy the blade’s thirst for blood.”

Yahiko’s eyes went wide at the explanation, “and you keep it in your closet!” he shrieked in fright.  _What else does she keep in her closet?_   He wondered in terror.

Kaoru rolled her eyes.  “Stop being such a baby, it’s just a katana.  Now stop horsing around and get back to work.”  She ordered.

Instead Yahiko watched her with wide eyes as she returned it to its case to place back in the safekeeping in her closet.  “Why do you have a katana?” he gulped.  _Especially one with that creepy of a history to it._

“So that I can chop up annoying brats who don’t do their chores!” Kaoru snapped.  “Now get back to work Yahiko!” Kaoru ordered as she threw a stack of cleaning cloths at Yahiko. 

Yahiko grabbed up the towels and bolted out of the room, Kaoru shook her head and returned the blade to her closet and shut it.  Tae laughed behind them, “I better make sure that’s he’s all right,” she stated as she left.

“Why do you keep such a blade Kaoru-dono?” Kenshin asked in curiosity.  It seemed odd for such a blade to be kept by the master of a dojo that taught about katsujin-ken.

“It has a dark past true, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be put to better uses in the future if it’s just given a chance,” she turned around with a smile and Kenshin wasn’t immune to the double meaning of Kaoru’s words.  “But not by me, after all I have no need or desire for a katana.  I was just planning to keep it as a kind of family heirloom.  And how my father obtained it is a special kind of story, I’ll have to tell you about it sometime.  But right now we have to finish up before Nobuyuki gets here with the food.”  With that Kaoru shooed Kenshin back to the main room while they finished up with the preparations (and Yahiko being far more devoted to the cleaning than normal).

While they continued their work Kaoru’s mind turned back to the scene earlier that day in the market place.  She kept one eye on Tae who had Hayate sleeping peacefully in a sling, his head resting on Tae’s bosom.   Kaoru desperately wanted to talk to Tae about the way Akio had acted in the market place and what rumors might be currently going around about her.  She figured that she got the gist of it from what Akio had said and that convinced her that such things shouldn’t be said when Kenshin was around.  She knew in an instant how it would make him feel if anyone doubted her honor. 

For her own part Kaoru wasn’t quite sure how she felt about the situation.  On one hand she was furious beyond words that anyone would spread such lies about her.  On the other hand, all she felt was apathy mixed with amusement, after all she already had a man who would never believe the rumors, and also wouldn’t care what others said about her.  And everyone who knew her would know that the rumors were false so why should she care what the rest of the world thought?  _But of course if_ that _side of the family is behind this than it’s just another reason to ignore their existence altogether.  Not that I really need another one after what Uncle Ryuu did after Papa’s funeral,_ Kaoru thought ferociously.  Even the memory of the event was enough to tighten her jaw in outrage.

“Hoh there, anyone home?” a man’s voice called from outside.  Kaoru rushed to the front door to where Nobuyuki was standing with one of his brothers, their arms filled with the covered trays of food that Sanosuke had ordered for the party.  Beside them another of the Sekihara’s was carrying the jugs of saki.

Kaoru’s eyes widen in amazement at everything Sanosuke had bought, “you can put them right in here,” she waved, standing to the side as the men slipped off their sandals and placed the trays inside the common room to the ‘wow’s’ of everyone except Tae.  “Sanosuke bought all this?  And he paid?” Kaoru asked in amazement.

“Even settled his bill with interest too, we’re all in shock.” Nobuyuki’s brother laughed. 

 _So how come he’s not paid me back the ten sen he barrowed?_   Kaoru thought in frustration, she made a mental note to demand the money when Sanosuke arrived later, away from his friend.

“Kaoru-dono what would you like us to do now?” Kenshin asked politely, waiting for his next task.

Kaoru smiled and shook her head a little at him, “nothing, Tae and I can handle it, you three just get out of here and Tae and I can handle the food.”

“But then you’ll ruin it,” Yahiko wined, but a growl and a stamp of Kaoru’s foot sent the boy running outside with the men following with knowing smiles.

Tae giggled a little as she helped Kaoru on organizing the food and dishes that had been brought from the kitchen around the circle of cushions they had laid out for all the guest who were expected.  “Kaoru that boy has you all figured out,” Tae laughed with a glitter in her eye.

Kaoru made a face, “if by that he knows just what buttons to push than you’re right.  He can be such a brat.”  Kaoru’s face tighten a bit in concern as she tried to think of the best way to phase her question but since she never had much skill for being elusive she settled on blunt.  “Tae is there a rumor going around that I’m not a virtuous woman?”

Tae’s hand froze for a moment as she was placing the flower arrangement that Kaoru had made in the center of the circle.  “I’m sorry what did you say?” she asked.

“You heard me.” Kaoru retorted. 

Tae turned to her with a look of concern, “how did you find out?”

“I met Akio-san, Tami’s brother in the market place and he stopped one step short of calling me a prostitute to my face.  So how long as this been going on anyways?”

“About a couple of weeks after that whole false Battosai thing started, but it didn’t really take off until you and Kenshin started walking out together,” Tae confessed.

“WHAT???” Kaoru screamed, surprising even herself, awakening Hayate who started crying and Tae rocked the baby with cooing noises.

“Kaoru-dono, is something wrong?” Kenshin came running into the room, looking around for the possible danger.

“Out!” Kaoru ordered, her tone softer than before but with all the malice she could muster, wanting to keep Kenshin out of the conversation.  She pointed to the door as Yahiko and Nobuyuki looked inside in curiosity.

“But…” Kenshin started, still trying to figure out why Kaoru’s was upset.

“Now!” Kaoru half whispered in fury as Tae managed to quiet Hayate and Kenshin disappeared in a flash, figuring that whatever the problem was, Tae could handle it.  Kaoru raised an eyebrow at Tae, “and why is this the first that I’m hearing about this?”

Tae licked her lips, her arms still wrapped around Hayate, “because I didn’t want to upset you, and besides you know how these things are, once it’s out there you can never make it go away.  And like I said, it was never more than just a few whispers until you and Kenshin got together.  Now everyone says that you too, are well, having improper relations.” 

 _I love how this is supposed to be the new era when everyone is treated the same, a woman of any other class than the samurai can lose her virginity outside of marriage and it’s not necessarily a scandal and in many cases, no one thinks twice about it.  Hell, it’s not even consider shameful to marry a former prostitute once she’s is released from the brothel.  But in the samurai class its grounds for immediate disowning and scandal no matter the situation,_ Kaoru thought with a slight bit of annoyance.  _Meanwhile a man of any station can do whatever he wants within or outside the bounds of marriage.  New era my foot, people will still hold to the way things used to be until the world ends._

“Kaoru are you upset?” Tae asked in concern, unable to read her friends’ face. 

Kaoru shook her head, “what’s the point?  I can’t change the opinion of a bunch of closed minded fools and I have no intention of trying.  But this would just upset Kenshin so let’s not tell him.”  Tae suddenly looked away biting her lip.  Kaoru’s eyebrows furrowed, “he’s knows, doesn’t he?”  Tae suddenly seem to take an intense interest in the room’s furnishings.  “And you told him but didn’t tell me?”  Kaoru sighed, “Why Tae?  Why didn’t you want to tell me but you told him?”

“I didn’t think you would take this so well, and I didn’t want him to be blindside when he did hear about it,” Tae confessed shyly.

“Kaoru, Kaoru!” Ayame and Suzume yelled as they came charging into the room at top speed and wrapped her up in a big hug from two sides.

“Well hello you two, it’s been a little while hasn’t it?” Kaoru laughed, instantly in a good mood with the arrival of the girls.  “Have you two met Hayate yet?” she asked and they shook their head.  Kaoru ushered the girls to Tae’s side and Tae, her face flushed with motherly pride, pulled Hayate out of his sling so that the girls could see him better.  The girls started cooing over the baby and Suzume reached out and started to tickle one of Hayate’s feet that had come unwrapped from the blanket. 

“Tickle, tickle,” she laughed as Kaoru turned her attention to Megumi and Doctor Gensei as they walked into the house with Nobuyuki and Yahiko on their heels.  “Well hello, you two ready for a party?” Kaoru asked cheerfully.

Megumi took one look at the feast that had been laid out with a look of amazement, “Sanosuke bought all of this?  Does anyone wonder where the money came from?”

“I’d rather not question it too closely, at least he’s finally paid what he owes,” Nobuyuki stated with a shake of his head.  “And so long as the police don’t ask any questions about it I’m okay with looking the other way in the situation.”  He took a seat at the table pulling out his shinabue and placing it on the floor next to him.

“Well make yourselves at home,” Kaoru welcomed.  “We’ll wait until Sanosuke arrives with his friend before we get started, and Yahiko Myojin you touch that saki I’ll carve off your fingers with a rusty knife!” Kaoru warned in a death whisper and Yahiko immediately let go of the saki jug he had been trying to open and stepped away with a sheepish look while the little girls giggled. 

Kaoru sighed, feeling that this was going to be a long night if she was going to have to watch both Megumi around Kenshin and Yahiko around the saki right as Tsubama walked into the house shyly. 

“Greetings everyone,” she practically whispered in her soft voice and Yahiko instantly straighten up, his face brightening at her appearance.  Kaoru saw a light on the horizon and figured that Yahiko might behave better with Tsubama around.

“Come in,” Kaoru welcomed as everyone started choosing their spots, chatting happily.  “Don’t be shy.”

Tsubama stepped forward hesitantly and chose a cushion to sit on, looking around nervously.  The moment she sat down, Yahiko took the cushion next to her and started talking to her with a big grin on his face as he filled her in on the enormous fish he had caught a few days before when he had gone fishing with some of the other boys of the dojo. 

Kaoru shook her head, _the fish always gets bigger with every telling,_ she thought as Yahiko greatly exaggerated the catch.  _Looks like almost everyone is here,_ Kaoru thought with satisfaction, she caught a flash of color from the corner of her eye and she looked up to see Kenshin’s head peeking around the corner of the doorframe.  The moment he saw her look up, he ducked his back before slowly peeking it back out to see the amused look on Kaoru’s face at his reaction. 

“Yes Kenshin?” she asked.

“Is all right if this one comes in now?” Kenshin asked hesitantly.

Kaoru rolled her eyes and beckoned him in with one hand, “of course, ghoss you really act like a frightened little girl sometimes.”

 _Because you act like all the demons of the underworld combined sometimes,_ Kenshin thought as he walked in and sat down in the empty spot next to Kaoru happily.  As soon as he sat down, Megumi moved to sit in the empty spot next to him, “Ken-san it’s been awhile hasn’t it?” Megumi laughed as she hooked her arm in his and leaned towards him.

Between Megumi’s grip of him on one side, and the look on Kaoru’s face on his other side Kenshin was petrified in terror.  Fortunately, he was saved by Sanosuke walking in with Katsuhiro at his side.  Sanosuke took a quick second to look over everything, “looks like everything is ready, let’s get started!” he announced happily.

Kaoru looked at him expectantly, “Sanosuke, aren’t you forgetting something?” she asked as they took their spots at the two empty cushions.

Sanosuke looked around, “let’s see everyone’s here, there’s food, booze, you made tea for the kids, hey and Nobuyuki even brought along an instrument, we could have some music later.  No I think that’s everything.”

All the woman rolled their eyes, “I think she meant that you forgot to introduce your friend to everyone,” Megumi explained in frustration.  _He’s such an idiot._

“Oh,” Sanosuke rubbed his chin, “everyone this my old buddy, Katsuhiro Tsukioka, you might know him better as Tsunan Tsukioka.”

“ _The_ Tsunan Tsukioka, the artist!” Tae cut Sanosuke off before he could get started introducing the others with a look of absolute excitement on her face, half rising from her cushion.  Without looking, Nobuyuki pushed Tae back down on her seat and her face flushed a little at her outburst but her eyes were still glowing.  Tsubama looked no less excited, in her shy way she kept looking at Katsuhiro and Yahiko felt a twinge of jealousy at the attention he was getting from her.

 “Anyways,” Sanosuke continued as though there have been no interruption, “we have Nobuyuki Sekihara and his family Tae and Hayate.  They are the family that owns and runs the Akabeko who made the food for tonight.  Next we have Tsubama Sanjo who works at the Akebeko, then there’s Yahiko Myojin the second favorite punching bag of the Missy, Kaoru Kamiya, who’s letting us host this party and her cooking is the main reason I paid someone else to make the food for the party.  And next to her is her favorite punching bag Kenshin Himura.  Then we have Megumi Takani, she claims she is studying to be a doctor but I still wonder how many of her patients she poisons with that personality of hers.  Doctor Gensei is who she works with and those are his granddaughters Suzume and Ayame.”  Sanosuke introduced as he made his way around the ring, ignoring the sour looks he was getting for some of his introductions.  “Oh and if you see a black flash of fur that’s Freckles the thriving cat, watch out for that one.  Well now that we got that out of the way, why don’t you ladies serve us some saki already and let’s dig in!”

There was an angry eye twitch from both Kaoru and Megumi but with a sigh the three women reached for the saki and tea and started pouring and passing cups around for the men, while everyone else happily grabbed food off the trays to pile up their individual dishes and started eating. 

“Sanosuke, how exactly did you get the money for tonight?” Megumi asked Sanosuke, continuing the discussion from earlier.  She had a few suspicions about where the money had really come from.

“He borrowed the money from me,” Katsuhiro supplied as he accepted his cup of saki.

“So when you said that were throwing a party in honor of your friend what you really meant was that you were mooching off of him,” Kaoru asked for clarification.

“Well you know what they say, ‘what’s mine is mine and what’s yours is also mine’,” Sanosuke quoted.

Almost everyone froze for a moment at Sanosuke’s words.  “Sano,” Kenshin started licking his lips.  “That’s not how it goes.”

“Sure it is, anyways who cares?” Sanosuke asked as he filled his small plate with food and with chopsticks in one hand, and his cup of saki in the other he started to devour his portions.

“Here Kenshin,” Kaoru started to pass Kenshin a class of saki but Megumi beat her to it, putting the cup she had poured into Kenshin’s hand. 

“Ken-san have some,” she purred in her direction while Kaoru froze at the sight.

Kenshin looked between the women realizing the awkwardness of the situation.  “Umm thank you very much Megumi-dono,” he said as he accepted the cup from Megumi, wishing at the moment he was anywhere but there. 

Kaoru’s lips pursed together but she said nothing, putting her cup down in front of herself and stiffly reaching to grab some food off the trays before Yahiko next to her stole everything within her reach. 

Kenshin looked between the women on either side of him, realizing that for the moment there was a truce in the constant war they waged over him and he breathed a little easier, listening to the conversation that was swirling around him. 

“So you’re an artist?” Ayame asked Katsuhiro politely.  “Would you mind drawing something for us?”

“Ayame,” Doctor Gensei lectured in a soft tone, “mind your manners.  Tsukioka-san isn’t here to draw you a picture.”

“I don’t mind,” Katsuhiro intoned.  “However, I do not have any of my supplies here.”

“I can get you some paper!” Ayame said, all excited, she jumped to her feet, rushing to the drawers where Kaoru kept a few sheets of paper and the ink and brushes.  She brought them all back to Katsuhiro.  “Will this do?”  She asked happily.

Katsuhiro finished chewing as he looked over the supplies the little girl laid out for him.  “I should be able to work with this,” he glanced quickly around at the others who were now watching him in interest.  “Would anyone else like a picture drawn?” He offered in an attempt to be polite.

Without hesitation, Tae raised her hand with a big smile, “I would if it’s not too much trouble.”

“Umm,” Tsubama muttered under her breath in embarrassment, her face turning red, wanting to ask but too shy to.  Yahiko glanced to her and then up at Katsuhiro. 

“I think Tsubama would like one too, right?” Yahiko asked, glancing towards Tsubama as she turned a little more red and ducked her head.

“Yeah she wants one,” Sanosuke confirmed.  “I’m getting good at reading those ‘umms’ of hers,” he laughed and Tsubama ducked her head lower. 

“Anyone else?” Katsuhiro asked, but all he got were people shaking their heads no.  “Very well, three portraits then,” he muttered under his breath as he laid out his paper and ink, arranging the brushes that had been brought and looking towards Ayame first, analyzing her face carefully before he turned to the paper and with sure strokes started drawing her face.

“Wow, that’s really good,” Ayame asked enthralled as she watched Katsuhiro work.  “Is that me?”

Katsuhiro inclined his head towards the girl.  Suzume leaned over to watch him work.  “Could you make me a kitty?” she asked in excitement. 

Katsuhiro looked at her in slight surprise, but he was preventing from replying as Kenshin perked up from across the circle.  “Do you want a pretty picture of a kitty Suzume-chan?” he asked gently.  Suzume nodded her head in excitement.  Kenshin set down his chopsticks, “well bring this one a brush, paper, and one of the extra ink bottles from the drawer and this one can draw you a kitty while Tsukioka-san finishes drawing the others, that I can.”

In a rush of excitement, Suzume grabbed up the required items and running brought them to Kenshin.  “Can you really draw me a kitty Uncle Kenny?”

Kenshin smiled fondly at the girl, “of course, just sit down and give this one just a few minutes.  Now what do you want the kitty to look like?”

“Umm,” the little girl’s face wrinkled up and she put a finger to her lips as she thought about it.  “Like Freckles when he’s all crouched down and about to pounce!” She decided.

Kenshin nodded his head in acknowledgement and turned to the blank paper in front of him, taking just a second to picture what he wanted to draw before he dipped the pen in ink and began.  While he was working both Megumi and Kaoru were too engrossed in other conversations to do more than fondly smile at the sight of Kenshin drawing while Suzume hovered over his shoulder, watching in excitement.  By the time Katsuhiro had finished his portrait of Ayame and given it to her and was in the middle of drawing Tae, Kenshin finished his own work and handed it to Suzume who was staring at it with glowing eyes. 

“Thank you so much Uncle Kenny, it’s beautiful!” she exclaimed, wrapping her arms around Kenshin giving him a kiss on the cheek.  “It’s the best picture in the world!”  She immediately ran back to her spot between Ayame and Doctor Gensei, holding her picture carefully so has not to bend it.  She then started showing it off as Ayame was showing off her picture to her.  Suzume then showed it to her grandfather who said that it was a very nice picture though the other’s wondered how much of that was the Doctor’s own opinion and how much was all the saki he had consumed that had turned his checks rosy.

It wasn’t until after Katsuhiro had finished his picture of Tsubama that he glanced at the picture Kenshin had drawn that was sitting next to Suzume.  His head cocked as he studied the fine lines and details that made the cat Kenshin had drawn seem as though it was ready to spring from the page.  Katsuhiro looked up to Kenshin who was busy laughing and talking with the others as Sanosuke finished some joke that had everyone in giggles.  “Himura-san was it?  Are you an artist by chance?”

“Oro?” Kenshin asked, turning his head to look at Katsuhiro, “this one an artist?  Oh no.”

“Well you draw well enough to be one,” Katsuhiro complimented.

Kenshin laughed, “that?  That was just a doodle, nothing very impressive.”

“I think it’s beautiful!” Suzume declared.

“Let us see it,” Tae chirped up, “we can be the judge for ourselves.”

Proudly Suzume held up her picture for everyone to see.  Kaoru stared at the picture for a moment before she turned to Kenshin, “that’s a doodle?” she asked in amazement.  Given more time she had no doubt that Kenshin would be able to make a work the equal of the ink paintings her grandfather made (and he was a very well-known ink artist). 

Kenshin nodded his head, “that’s what it is without color, now if this one had more time, and some paint, and preferably a screen or something instead of paper this one could do a lot better…” he trailed off as he noticed the looks he was getting from everyone.  “So it’s not a doodle?” he asked in a small voice.

Kaoru face palmed.  “Kenshin, there seems to be as many gaps in your education as Yahiko’s.  Though I am wondering how someone who can draw as well as you can still write so atrociously.”

“I can write,” Kenshin protested feebly, though no one was listening to him.

“Well it seems as though you are more talented than you lead us to believe Ken-san,” Megumi flirted.  “Despite what Kaoru-san say your education seems more complete than hers, after all she seems to be lacking in any art befitting a woman.”  Megumi delivered with a piercing look in Kaoru’s direction.

There was a hush over the group as the figurative gantlet was thrown and Kaoru stiffened at Megumi’s words.   Kaoru turned to Nobuyuki, “Nobuyuki, do you mind playing something for us?  Tae, can I borrow your fan for a moment?”

Tae handed over her fan in an instant, a big grin on her face, knowing what was coming.  Nobuyuki raised his shinobue and played a few notes as Kaoru got up from her spot in the circle and moved a short distance away from everyone, standing in a particular crouch, half sitting with Tae’s and her fan in each hand, posing until Nobuyuki started playing a simple folk tune. 

Kenshin watched in interest as slowly and carefully Kaoru moved through the steps of a dance, to the slow beat Nobuyuki set.  Kenshin paid close attention to her feet at the beginning of the dance, seeing the same shuffling footwork that he had noticed in her kenjutsu.  But as he kept watching eventually he started paying closer attention to her hands and the way she was manipulating the fans.  It was subtle, but the more he watched the more he saw that her kenjutsu must have influenced her dance as well as he recognized some of the moments.  The way she twisted her wrist Kenshin identified as breaking an attackers grip on her wrist which was followed by the other arm extending, abet slowly, out to strike the fan into the throat of an opponent. Not every moment was a fighting move, like when Kaoru put the two open fans together and wagged them as though they were the wings of a bird or butterfly.  But Kenshin entertained himself by looking for ones that were and imaging what their uses would be. 

At the end of the song everyone applauded for Kaoru and Nobuyuki and they bowed slightly in acknowledgement.  Megumi looked at Kenshin and the smile on his face as he had watched Kaoru dance and she felt a surge of jealousy.  She felt jealous of the way Kenshin looked at her and also for the unconscious grace that Kaoru processed when she moved. So as Kaoru rejoined them at the table Megumi decided to get her revenge.  She picked up Kenshin’s half-empty saki cup and leaned in towards him, “Ken-san, would you like me to pour you some more saki?”

Kenshin glanced at the contents and then back to Megumi, “well it’s not empty just yet.”

Megumi smiled a devious smile as Kaoru was looking at her with her disapproving expression, she raised the cup to her lips and drank the last of its contents.  “On the country it’s empty, would you like some more?”

Kaoru’s eyes opened wide in shock, _she drank from the same cup as Kenshin!_   Kaoru thought in shock, she had no doubt how Megumi wanted her to interpret the incident.  After all, what girl didn’t know that a wedding ceremony consisted of three cups of saki that the groom drank from before the bride?

Even Kenshin wasn’t immune to the meaning of what had just taken place, he looked between the two women, desperately wanting a way out of the situation before it escalated into a war that would rival the Bakumatsu in casualties. 

“Hey Kenshin, come over here and let’s have a drinking game!” Sanosuke called and Kenshin felt a wave of gratitude towards his friend.  Kenshin was on his feet in an instant and in the space of two heartbeats was sitting down with Sanosuke, Katsuhiro, and Nobuyuki.  Kenshin made a metal note at the next party they had to not sit between Kaoru and Megumi. 

“Man you stir up the ladies more than old Jin-e,” Sanosuke laughed.  “Now he’s a real ladies man, too bad he couldn’t make it tonight.”  Sanosuke slapped Kenshin’s shoulder, still laughing without a care in the world.

 _Why is he talking about a psycho ex-hitokiri that tried to kill me, Kaoru-dono, and Sanosuke as though we were the best of friends?_   Kenshin wondered.  _How much saki as he had?_   From all the signs he could see, Sanosuke seemed sober enough, _actually he seems more sober then he should be, considering how much saki he bought for this and how he normally drinks._   Kenshin suddenly became very suspicions and decided that he needed to stay sober to keep an eye on Sanosuke. 

Nobuyuki passed Kenshin a jug with a knowing smile as each of the men wrapped their hand through the cords on the jug, positioning it, and waiting for the start signal from Sanosuke.  “You guy’s ready?  Well then go!”

Kenshin tipped the jug back, but though he seemed as though he was gulping the contents in truth he was keeping one eye on Sanosuke.  He saw Sanosuke open his eyes and give Kenshin a wink which only proved Kenshin’s suspensions that something was going on.  Finally, Kenshin dropped the jug, “that’s it, this one can’t drink anymore,” Kenshin declared. 

The other’s also put their jugs down a few minutes later.  “Oh Kenshin it’s not like you to lose, what?  Just because you beat old Raijuta at drinking you don’t have to try anymore?”

Kenshin laughed even as the name of the man who had tried to start a revolution while Kenshin had been in Izu with the others sent warning bells going off in his head.  “Oh I could beat all of you, but I would regret it in the morning.”

All the men laughed knowingly and the party went on, the little girls were running around screaming and playing like wild things, eventually pulling Yahiko and Tsubama into their game.  None of the adults were feeling steady enough to join the girls.  Eventually one by one people fell asleep until finally the room was in darkness and filled with the quiet sounds of people sleeping, and Yahiko’s snores.  The clock tolled three in the morning, Katsuhiro sat up, pulling the blanket off himself, and walked to the door, quietly stepping outside, leaving the door ajar. 

Sanosuke sat up next, _I guess that it’s time to go._   He glanced over to see Ayame’s shoulders uncovered by the blanket.  He smiled a little as he reached over and gently tucked the blanket up to the little girl’s chin.  He quietly got up and joined Katsuhiro, but he made sure that he didn’t close the door all the way, knowing that Kenshin was sleeping against the wall within hearing range of the door, sword propped against his left shoulder as was his custom. 

“So tell me Sano, did you enjoy your last supper?”  Katsuhiro asked quietly.

Sanosuke scoffed, “Not really, but I did want to pay those guys back for everything we’ve been through together.  How about you?  You haven’t had a party in over five years.”

“Not at all.”

Sanosuke snorted, “gloomy to the last ain’t you?”

“Are you sure you want to do this Sano?” Katsuhiro asked in a serious tone, changing the conversation.  To Sanosuke it seemed like the thousandth time he had asked the same question. 

“Do I look like a sentimental kind of guy?”  Sanosuke asked incredulously.  “I’ve decided to throw my lot in with you and show those pigs of the Meiji government what _real_ Sekihoutai members can do, even in the so call ‘new age’.”

Katsuhiro smiled a little, “let’s hurry, if we don’t, we won’t be able to get the grenades to Internal Affairs before the sun rises.”  He turned to leave and Sanosuke glanced back into the house for a moment, Kenshin seemed as though he was fast asleep but Sanosuke hoped that he had caught Sanosuke’s warning throughout the evening that something was up so that he could put the second part of his plan into effect.

After Sanosuke closed the door fully and ran to catch up with Katsuhiro, a strong wind blew, in the dark house Kenshin opened his eyes, got to his feet, walked out of the house closing the door and sheathing his sword at his side.  _So that’s what you’re up to,_ Kenshin thought viciously.  _Going to destroy Internal Affairs?  We’ll see about that._


	16. The False Sekihoutai Army

**Chapter 15**

**The False Sekihoutai Army**

The screams of men could be heard in the cold mountain air.  The wolves sniffed the air, smelling fresh blood on the air.  The pack crept forward through the dense trees.  The screams suddenly stopped, and the scent of blood on the air was intoxicating.  The wolves stepped forward to the edge of a small clearing where a tall man wearing a white coat was the sole survivor of the carnage.  The clearing was filled with the bodies of men, the blood filling the clearing.  The wolves stayed in the shadows, from the way the man carried himself he was a predator and they were only looking for food, not a fight.  The man saw the glowing eyes in the shadows of the trees and understood that there was an unspoken truce for the moment.  _Soon Battosai, soon it will time for our fight.  And this time the Oniwanban will prevail as the strongest._

_***_

It was the graveyard shift of the wee hours of the morning.  Nothing living stirred on the streets and the officers standing guard tried not to yawn as a breeze blew in from the south.  It was just another night on guard duty, until the first explosion rocked the night.  The officers turned in surprise, not sure at first if the explosion had been real or a figment of their imagination until several more bombs went off.  The grenades had been left by Katsuhiro and he had cut each to different wick lengths in order to keep the police running around looking for the intruders while they slipped in undetected.

One of the guards pulled out his whistle to call for help.  “There’s another one, there must be several of them in hiding.  Get all the guards to the main gate!”  Someone yelled and the guards scrambled into action, some towards the main gate, others towards the explosions to find the culprits.  Unknown to the guards, and blending into the darkness of the new moon, were two former Sekihoutai members who, the moment the guards were around the corner from the deserted stretch of wall they had chosen, ran forward.  

Katsuhiro reached the wall first, he crouched with his back to the wall, locked his hands together to provide Sanosuke a step and Sanosuke leaped forward, using the step Katsuhiro provided to leap to the top of the wall.  At the top of the wall, Sanosuke took off his haroi and twisted it like a rope before lowering it to Katsuhiro who grabbed the end and Sanosuke hauled him to the top of the wall.

When Katsuhiro hit the top of the wall he looked to the other side, to the grassy field before the Building of Internal Affairs that had been built in the western style.  His eyes open in surprise. 

“What is it Katsu?” Sanosuke asked as he turned around to see what Katsuhiro was staring at.

“What is he doing here?” Katsuhiro asked as he recognized Kenshin from the party.  “Why is he mixing himself up in this Sanosuke?”

Sanosuke looked down into the courtyard where Kenshin stood, a determined look on his face in the sparse light of a few lanterns, one hand on his sword as he waited from them to come.  “His name is Kenshin Himura, but he used to be known as Hitokiri Battosai.” Sanosuke told him a somber voice.  _Good, Kenshin picked up on all the hints I left for him.  I was afraid I was being too subtle._

Katsuhiro leaped to the ground and Sanosuke followed him, “so have you come to take Sanosuke back then Hitokiri?” Katsuhiro demanded.

“No,” Kenshin answered in a strong voice.  “This is what Sano chose to do, there is nothing more to be said about it.  This one is only here to prevent the crime you are here to commit.”

“Ishin Shishi patriots again,” Katsuhiro snarled, “so you plan to get in our way again?”  He pulled two grenades out and lit them with the lighting rings of flint and steel he wore on both hands.  He threw the bombs at Kenshin.  “Take this Imperialist pig!”

Kenshin stepped forward, drawing his sword in Battojutsu and cut the wicks of the bombs before they could ignite.  They hit the ground harmlessly behind Kenshin.  _Does he think this is the first time someone has tried to use such tricks against me?_

  _“_ That won’t work against him Katsu,” Sanosuke told him.  He passed his haori to Katsuhiro, “I’ll deal with him, you go set the bombs while I keep him distracted.”

“Sano, wait!” Katsuhiro tried to stop him but Sanosuke charged forward recklessly.  _Idiot, I won’t leave him alone against someone like the Battosai, and with Sano in the fight I don’t dare use my bombs,_ Katsuhiro cursed.  

Kenshin dodged Sanosuke’s attack, pulling his sheath up to strike Sanosuke in the gut.

“Hey not so hard, just make it look good okay?” Sanosuke hissed at Kenshin as he continued his attack, one punch coming closer to Kenshin’s head than Kenshin liked, having been hit by Sanosuke before. 

“Sanosuke what is going on here?”  Kenshin asked in an undertone before he leaped away from a kick Sanosuke directed at him, sliding his sheath back into place on his obi.

“I’m trying to stall for time so Katsu doesn’t have the time to blow up the Department.”  Sanosuke explained as Kenshin swept his punch away from his head and tried to retaliate with a palm heel strike that Sanosuke twisted his body away from with a pivot of his feet.

“You knew this was he was going to do this before the party didn’t you?”

“Of course I did,” Sanosuke answered as Katsuhiro leaped forward to join the fight, determined not to leave Sanosuke alone.  He pulled Sanosuke back out of the fight and to the ground as he threw a short fuse bomb at Kenshin.  The explosion of it sent everyone diving to the ground.

“Katsu, are you crazy, you trying to blow us up?” Sanosuke grumbled as he lifted his head, covered in dirt from the bomb. 

Katsuhiro looked into the cloud of dust where Kenshin had been, “there’s no way that he could have gotten away from that explosion.”  There was a little bit of glee in that voice, but as the cloud settled and he saw the ripple of moment near a small stonewall around a small garden area his tone changed.  “Impossible, what does it take to kill that filthy Imperialist?”

Kenshin stood up from behind his cover, a littler irritated at almost being blown up.  “It is because this one is an Imperialist that I will not let this go on.  If you continue to use such devices than soon or later innocent lives will be hurt and I will never allow that,” Kenshin told him with chilling certainly.

“Katsu, just go set the bombs already, we’re running out of time.  I’ll handle him!” Sanosuke ordered as he pushed Katsuhiro out of his way and leapt towards Kenshin to resume their fistfight. 

Kenshin blocked the serious of punches Sanosuke directed at him, “what exactly is the plan Sano?” he asked in an undertone, continuing their earlier conversation.

“Honestly, I didn’t expect to make it this far,” Sanosuke confessed as he grabbed Kenshin’s leg when he tried to kick him.  Kenshin didn’t wait for Sanosuke’s next move, he leapt off his other foot and used it to kick Sanosuke under the chin, knocking him back and making him release his leg while he flipped head over heels to land back on his feet.

 _I really need to give him some lessons in thinking his plans all the way through and letting his friends know what those plans are before they get mixed up in them,_ Kenshin grumbled in his head. 

“Sano,” Katsuhiro caught Sanosuke as he stumbled back from Kenshin’s kick.  “You can’t fight him alone!” 

Police whistles sounded as they ran to investigate the grounds of the Internal Affairs after the failed attempt by Katsuhiro to kill Kenshin with a bomb.  “Time’s up, sorry Katsu,” Sanosuke said as he turned and caught Katsuhiro under the chin with a punch that knocked him out.  He grabbed Katsuhiro before he hit the ground and looked up at Kenshin.  “Sorry I had to bother you with this Kenshin.”

Kenshin stepped forward and helped Sanosuke lift Katsuhiro up so they could get him out of there.  “We’re having a long talk about this later Sano,” Kenshin warned him.

“Sounds like fun,” Sanosuke replied as they hurried away as fast as they could with the unconscious Katsuhiro.

***

Katsuhiro opened his eyes in confusion to see a familiar ceiling, he glanced around seeing his pens, brushes, and other paraphernalia.  “This is…”  He sat up in confusion remembering the affair at the Internal Affairs, “my own room.”  He finished in shock.  He glanced around to see Sanosuke sipping on some tea in the early morning as he held one of the caricatures Katsuhiro had drawn.  He looked to the closet where he had stored all the grenades and saw that it was cleaned bare.  He looked at Sanosuke, “what happened to all the bombs?” he demanded. 

“Kenshin took all the grenades, gonna bury them somewhere no one can find them,” Sanosuke replied calmly, sipping on the tea, seeming without a care in the world.

“Curse him that government dog,” Katsuhiro swore, realizing how he had been tricked and how much this would set back his plans.

“It’s not like that.”  Sanosuke corrected.  “Kenshin doesn’t like today’s government anymore than we do.  In fact, he probably hates it even more because he sacrificed a lot to help _build_ it.”

“Don’t toy with me!” Katsuhiro snarled.  “How can a Hitokiri know…”

“He knows.” Sanosuke interrupted in a sure voice.  “He moved in the shadows of the Meiji Revolution.  As a Hitokiri, he did a lot of dirty deeds, starting with murder.  Because of that he couldn’t watch us do the same, not without intervening.”  Sanosuke looked at the caricature Katsuhiro had drawn of the Captain with the younger version of him and Katsuhiro on either side, he flipped it over for Katsuhiro to see.  “Katsu, the Captain told us the Sekihoutai army committed bad acts too, but he couldn’t have _wanted_ to do those things.  The army lived by the ideals of a classless equality.  We can’t disgrace that now.”  Sanosuke reasoned. 

“So glib…”  Katsuhiro started before he broke off in rage.  _Sanosuke just used me, he was planning this all along.  How couldn’t I see that he’s now become just another mindless slave to this new government?_   “It makes no difference how dirty the deeds!  We must use _any means_ possible to reach our goal!”  Katsuhiro vowed.  _Even if I’m alone I will continue the work._

“Is that so…?””  Sanosuke asked setting the caricature and tea down and standing up.  “Then we’ve truly become the ‘False Revolutionary Army’.”  Sanosuke told him a sure voice as he walked to the door.  He looked back to see the effect his words had on Katsuhiro.  Katsuhiro stared at him as though seeing him for the first time.  “Don’t sink to the government’s level.  Slow and steady is fine with me.  I’ll do what I can to make the Captain smile from the other world,” Sanosuke walked out, closing the door behind him.  _The rest is up to you Katsu.  I can’t help you anymore.  You have to decided what path to chose from this point on.  But for my part, I refuse to be the False Revolutionary Army._   Sanosuke walked on, he turned a corner and found Kenshin waiting, standing on a bridge. 

“How did things go?” Kenshin asked. 

“About as well as to be expected.”  Sanosuke sighed.  “But it’s up to him from now on, there’s nothing more that I can do.”

Kenshin nodded, turning to walk with Sanosuke.  “You know if you had told this of the situation earlier it would never have gone as far as it did.”  He asked.

“Yeah, but I knew that unless it did I wouldn’t have a chance of reaching him.  The whole thing was insane I know, but that’s the way life is,” Sanosuke kicked a rock out of his way.

Kenshin nodded, having expected an answer like that from his friend.  “We must have faith in people Sano, they will more often than not surprise you.  After all,” Kenshin told him with a slight smile.  “After our first meetings, this one did not expect that we would become friends, that I did not.”

“Whatever,” Sanosuke replied, wishing he could be as optimistic as Kenshin.  He sighed, _Katsu, what will you choose now?_

_***_

 “Can we learn something interesting today?” Yahiko wined.  It was time for his daily lesson in reading/writing, history, art and whatever else Kaoru felt that his education lacked.  Recently Kaoru had been spending the time to teach Yahiko his history when she realized how inadequate his current knowledge was. 

Kaoru sighed, deciding to give into his demand, _maybe he’ll actually listen for a change if I do._   “All right, what would you find interesting?”

“How ‘bout instead of learning what some dead guy’s did hundreds of years ago you teach me something more relevant to now?” Yahiko asked. 

“Do you have something specific in mind with that?” Kaoru asked with raised eyebrow.  “Because if you don’t then were going to continue talking about the Sengoku period,” Kaoru warned the boy.

“What lead to the Bakumatsu?” Yahiko asked in a hurry, it was the first thing that popped into his head.

Kaoru paused, she hadn’t expected Yahiko to even give a reply, “that’s actually a good question.  All right, that will be our topic to for today, the events leading up to the Bakumatsu.  Now you know that before the Meiji revolution the Shogun was the leader of the country and the Emperor was merely a figurehead with no real power?” Kaoru asked.

 Yahiko nodded his head, “yeah and the revolution changed all of that, now the Shogun is kept under house arrest while the Emperor is the one in charge.”

“Right,” Kaoru nodded, pleased that the boy was retaining at least some of what she had tried to teach him.  “So in the 300 year era of the Tokugawa period, Japan had a closed door policy towards foreign trade.  There was limited trade allowed in certain ports with certain countries but for the most part Japan totally isolated itself from the rest of the world.  Now there were several countries that over the years tried to force trade agreements but those usually failed.  That was until an American by the name of Perry, in 1852, sailed into Tokyo Bay and demanded trade agreement between Japan and America.”

Kaoru stopped her narrative as Kenshin slid the door back, “sorry to interrupt but I thought you both might like a snack during the lesson,” Kenshin told them as he brought in some tea and rice balls.

“Gee, thanks Kenshin!” Yahiko perked up at the sight of food. 

Kaoru shook her head as Yahiko grabbed a rice ball off the tray Kenshin carried before he even had a chance to set the tray down.  “Just some tea for me,” she told Kenshin before he gave her the other rice ball (which was then promptly claimed by Yahiko who was still chewing on the other one).  Kenshin smiled a little as he poured Kaoru a cup of tea.

So what is the lesson for today?” Kenshin asked in interest.

“We were talking about the coming of the Black Ships,” Kaoru told him as she started sipping on her tea. 

“That’s a good topic,” Kenshin remarked, “do you mind if this one listens in?”

“Not at all,” Kaoru replied.  She turned back to Yahiko as Kenshin settled in to hear out the remainder of the story and Yahiko had finally swallowed his food.  “So Perry demanded trade agreements, he was refused and told to sail out of the harbor before he was attacked.  What they did not realize at the time was the strength of the Western guns and how inadequate our defenses would be against them.  So Perry opened fire on the harbor, after that, to prevent further destruction an agreement of trade was made with the Americans.”  Kaoru finished.

Yahiko stared at her, obviously waiting to hear the rest.  “That was it?  How did that lead to the Bakumatsu?”

Kaoru kept herself from rolling her eyes, “because of the strength that was demonstrated by the Black Ships made people realize that we could no longer defend ourselves from the Westerners as we had lead ourselves to believe.  Please also keep in mind that many European powers are taking power of other Asian countries like China bit by bit at the time.  This started the idea that Japan needed to change its foreign policy of isolationism and learn from the other countries of the worlds so that we could remain a nation, without being conquered by another power.  This was a cause of the unrest that eventually turned into the Bakumatsu.  And there was also the effect that this had on the people of Edo at the time.”  Kaoru bit her lip at the end of her explanation.

Kenshin caught that action, “do you remember the Black Ships Kaoru-dono?” he asked, _she would have been very young at the time._

Kaoru shrugged, “not really, I remember hearing about the summer when Papa didn’t have any lessons but I didn’t understand why.  When I was older, Doctor Gensei told me it was because of that, after Perry opened fire everyone was like that, they were afraid to leave their homes, afraid that we were going to be attacked.  Some people even fled the city, those that could of course.  You talk to people that lived here during that time and they will tell you that it was one of those events that they all talk about where they were the day that the Black Ships sailed into the harbor and attacked us.”  She looked at Yahiko whose eyes had gotten a little wider at her explanation, “I guess for a kid like you that moment might be where you were on the day the Imperial Army marched into Edo and the war was over.  Do you remember where you were that day?”

Yahiko snorted, “oh yeah I remember that day all right,” he responded blackly, a bitter look on his young face.  “That was the day the men came and kicked my Mom and me out of our home because Dad died and we had to move into the crappy little row house with the rats.  I remember blaming all those soldiers for it because I thought they were the ones who did it.  I do remember that some were watching when it happened and didn’t do a thing to stop it.”

Kaoru’s eyes got lost in memory, “I was on a rooftop so I could see the army march in, I’ll never forget how that made me feel, I knew in that moment that the world I had known was lost and I wasn’t sure what would replace it.”  She turned to see Kenshin also had a far-off look in his eyes.  “What about you Kenshin, where were you at the end of the war?”

Kenshin looked up towards her, drawn out of his musings by the sound of her voice directed at him, “what did you say?” he asked softly.

“Where were you at the end of the war?” Kaoru asked again.

 _Trying to forget about it,_ Kenshin hesitated not sure exactly how to answer but Sanosuke’s voice prevent him from having to come up with something.

“Hoh there, anyone home?”

Kaoru groaned, “when is he going to learn to mooch off of someone else?” she moaned, between Sanosuke and Yahiko her foodstuffs disappeared alarmingly fast.

Yahiko laughed as he jumped to his feet and ran out to greet Sanosuke, Kaoru turned to Kenshin who still seemed a little lost in his own little world.  Kaoru leaned forward and put a hand on Kenshin’s shoulder, drawing him back into the present with a start.  “Kenshin if I said something out of place I’m sorry,” she apologized.

Kenshin smiled sadly at her, “please don’t let it trouble you Kaoru-dono.”

Kaoru smiled back at him, obviously satisfied with his answer before she got up and joined Yahiko, Kenshin took a few more moments to collect himself, _Kenshin this is getting ridiculous, you have been debating telling Kaoru-dono about this for how long now?  You just need to open up to her.  She has been straightforward with you, you should return the favor,_ Kenshin told himself in a stern voice.  _Okay, tonight after we go and see the 47 Ronin I’ll tell her about Tomoe._

He joined the others outside with a big grin on his face to hide his true emotions.  “How have you been Sano?” Kenshin greeted.

“All right I guess, “Sanosuke replied.  “So the brat says you guys are going to a kabuki theater tonight, I thought samurai weren’t supposed to go to things like that?”

“Oh please like anyone every paid much attention to silly old rules like that in the first place,” Kaoru scoffed.  “Besides it’s the Meiji era and we’re going to go see the 47 Ronin.  I thought Yahiko might like the story and this performance is supposed to be rather good.”

“Yeah this is going to be great!” Yahiko exclaimed, he had never had the chance to go to a kabuki performance before and was all excited that Kaoru was treating them all to one tonight. 

“Well I’m in,” Sanosuke added.  “We going out for dinner too or eating here?”

Kaoru’s mouth gaped open in shock that Sanosuke would just invite himself along, she shut it closed with a snap.  _I don’t why I’m so surprised, this is exactly the kind of thing that he does,_ she grumbled to herself.

“We were going to eat here before going to the performance,” Kenshin responded.  “Speaking of which this one needs to start dinner soon if we are going to eat before the show,” with that Kenshin excused himself so that he could start the dinner preparations, his mind awhirl with what he planned to tell Kaoru that night.

***

They were crowded into the kabuki theater as tight as possible.  Kaoru was squeezed in-between Kenshin and Yahiko.  The first act where the Lord Ako had visited the Shogun’s court for the first time and another of the Lords, Lord Kira insulted and heckled Lord Ako for not knowing the proper manners of the court.  Eventually this caused the ignorant Lord Ako to draw a blade and attack Lord Kira, this act of violence, expressly forbidden in the Shogun’s palace lead to the Shogun ordering Lord Ako to commit seppuku, which he did.  The news traveled back to Lord Ako’s province where it caused great despair among the samurai’s.  Some of them decided to follow the new daimyo that would be appointed by the Shogun but a group of 47 samurai, led by the samurai Oishi, decided to give up their lives, their families, and everything they held dear to do what they deemed the honorable thing and revenge their master.  Of course, there weren’t that many actors but everyone knew how many there were supposed to be.   

They were now into the second act of the play where the samurai who had refused to follow the new damiyo became ronin, samurais without a master.  They watched as one by one they seemed to have lost all sense of their former honor.  They became drunks, beggars, and generally falling into the lowest places of society and no one who met them pity these men but instead heaped insult upon insult on them.  Kaoru could tell form the expression on the boy’s face that he understood the plight of those men, after all he and his mother had gone through similar situation.  His mother eventually had to become a prostitute and then died and he became a pawn and pickpocket of the yakuzua though he had descended from a long line of samurais. 

 _Well this was a good idea to have Yahiko see this performance,_ Kaoru thought, they had covered the history of the 47 Ronin before but Yahiko hadn’t taken to the tale than as he was now, having the story acted out for him.  Kaoru turned to her other side to see Kenshin’s reaction to the play.  Much to her surprise Kenshin’s eyes were distant and far away.  “Kenshin,” she whispered into his ear, “is everything all right?”

Kenshin snapped to attention and looked at her a little startled.  He smiled quickly, “of course Kaoru-dono,” he assured her in a hushed voice.  She gave him a worried look back, not sure how much she believed but she turned her attention back to the play, keeping one eye on Kenshin.  Kenshin turned his attention back to the performance, forcing himself to appear interested in it until eventually, Kaoru seemed satisfied and stopped glancing at him, and Kenshin returned to his carefully scanning of the audience.  He had the uncomfortable pickling feeling as though someone was watching him but he had been unable to spot anything out of the ordinary.  He had the feeling all evening, almost from the time they had left the dojo but as far as he knew no one had followed them. 

 _And I’m sure that this isn’t the first time that someone has been watching me,_ he thought darkly.  He had been having this feeling of being watched for some time now, and it was getting worse.  _Either I’m becoming paranoid or someone’s after me, could it be Aoshi?  No, if it was him, he would have come out already to settle things between us.  This has to be something else._

Finally, the second act was over and the anticipation increased as the stage went dark before bits of paper to represent snow started falling and the night the Ronin’s took their revenge had begun.  They watched as the Ronin crept into the castle of the Lord Kira who had caused the death of their master.  A fight broke out between the Ronin and Lord Kira’s samurai’s and the stage exploded into a violent swordfight.  Kaoru had to admit, these actors weren’t bad with their swordplay.  There were also several actors who were acrobats and they took that time to display their skill.  The audience watched as the Ronin could not be defeated and took down everyone of Lord Kira’s samurais and began their search to find Lord Kira.  Eventually they found him hiding in an outhouse and he was dragged out.  He was confronted by the leader of the Ronin, Oishi, who declared that he had been defeated by the loyal men of Lord Ako and Lord Kira was given the choice to commit seppuku at the disgrace of having his castle taken.  Lord Kira was in the end to afraid to do it and tried to run, but was killed by Oishi.

There was a hush as the play moved to the final scene, where Oishi and his men knelt before the Shogun and told him of what they had done.  The shogun applauded them for acting as a samurai should but told them that he could not let them kill a damiyo without punishment.  The Ronin bowed their head, knowing what was now expected of them, and indeed knew if from the time they decided to take their revenge and become Ronin.  As one the Ronin took out their swords and with a final cry from the leader, Oishi, to remember them for they were the spirit of Japan, they all committed seppuku. 

The stage went dark and the audience waited half a breath before they began their applause and the actors reappeared to take their bows. 

“Great show, not bad fights, overall it was worth the money,” Sanosuke applauded. 

 _You mean it was worth having_ someone else _pay for you,_ Kaoru thought in annoyance knowing that Sanosuke would never pay her back for this. 

“Shall we leave then?” Kenshin asked, standing up.  Kaoru looked a little surprised with how quickly Kenshin wanted to leave but she nodded her head and grabbed Yahiko by the shoulders so that she wouldn’t lose him in the crowd and they jostled their way outside of the theater and out into the streets.  They had to go a short distance before they were finally out of the crowd of people and making their way down the dark streets.  They made a quick stop as Kaoru pulled out the simple paper lantern that she had brought and lit it from one of the few street lanterns in this part of town to give them a little light for the walk home. 

“So what did everyone think of it?” Kaoru asked. 

“It was good,” Kenshin responded neutrally.

“Not bad,” Sanosuke agreed.

“It was great!” Yahiko exclaimed with boyish enthusiasm.  He started jumping around, “that was a great story, I mean they waited a year or so before they went back to show that Lord Kira right?  So that no one would ever suspect anything.  It was brilliant, and they stuck to their cause through all that stuff they had to take.  They could have bailed out and gone and sworn allegiance to the new damiyo and been taken back but none of them did.  And then not one of them died taking the castle?  That’s amazing!” 

 _Did the kid not listen the first time I told the story?_   Kaoru thought with a tip of her head, “yeah that’s right.  Hey Yahiko stop running ahead, stay with the rest of us!” Kaoru called as Yahiko went running off in his excitement.  Yahiko skidded to a halt and Kaoru hustled to catch up with him and give the boy a good scolding about staying with the group.  Kenshin glanced over to Sanosuke whose face was drawn and worried, very unlike his normally carefree attitude towards life. 

“How are things with your friend Katsuhiro?”  Kenshin asked in an undertone. 

“Not sure, after I left his place that morning I haven’t been able to bring myself to go back,” Sanosuke mumbled.  He sighed, “I don’t know if he would even see me now.”

Kenshin nodded his head slightly to acknowledge his friends plight, wishing there was more that he could do but he knew that it situations like this there was nothing even the most well-wishing person could do, it was up to the individual to decide the course of their own life. 

“Well hello, fancy meeting you here,” Megumi laughed as the group made their way into one of the market squares in town, now almost deserted in the night air but there were still different groups of travelers making their way from the various entertainment spots and restaurants in the area. 

“Megumi, what are you doing out here?” Kaoru asked in surprise as the group stopped for a moment.

“Well I was actually out on a case, had to deliver some medicine to a patient, and now that I’m done I’m on my way back to the clinic, and what are you all doing out here?”  Megumi asked pleasantly.

“We went out to see the 47 Ronin!”  Yahiko perked up.  “It was amazing, you should have seen it Megumi, they had this great sword fight, and there were these guys doing these awesome acrobats, and…”

“I don’t think he’s going to sleep tonight,” Kaoru remarked in a calm voice to Kenshin and Sanosuke as Yahiko continued to ramble on about the play.  “He’s way too wound up.”

“Well that sounds nice Yahiko,” Megumi replied when Yahiko finally stopped for a breath.  “Ken-san and how are you this evening, did you also enjoy the play?” Megumi asked, stepping closer to Kenshin.  Yahiko, being ignored by the adults, pulled out his shinai that he always wore and started swinging it around; trying to imitate some of the moves he had seen that night in the play. 

Kenshin’s eyes went wide and his hands shook a little as a hauntingly familiar scent reached him.  “The play was fine,” he replied absently as that smell brought back to his mind the bloody rain, that day in the snow, the blood that stain his sword and hands, the bitter pain from the cut on his check to match the wound to his heart.

Sanosuke sniffed the air, for the moment at least everyone was oblivious to Kenshin’s state, “you wearing perfume or something?” he asked Megumi.  “I know it’s not the Missy, she never smells that nice.”

Kaoru gave him a dirty look, Megumi a haughty expression, “yes, I treated myself to some hakubaiko from my wages not that it’s any of your business.”  She turned back to Kenshin with a pleasant smile, “what do you think of it Kenshin?”

Kenshin didn’t hear a word that Megumi said, he was too lost in his memories of the past, his head turned to see a katana swing towards him and in a rush of instincts, he drew his own katana to block the attack, pivoting on his heel to face his enemy.  Kenshin reacted by slashing at his attacker, they stumbled away from the attack clumsily, seemingly surprised by Kenshin’s countermove.  Their face was lost in the darkness as they stumbled out of the range of the lights and Kenshin leapt forward to continue the attack.

“Kenshin no!” a woman called from behind, grabbing the back of Kenshin’s kimono and pulling him back, preventing him for delivering the death blow to his attacker.  “Please stop,” she whispered in his ear.  Kenshin hesitated for a moment, feeling the pull of that voice, the calm it worked on him.  He relaxed at her command, dropping his guard and letting her wrap one arm around his chest, “please,” she whispered again, one hand reaching to the sword that Kenshin held loosely by his side and she gently took it away from him.  Kenshin didn’t fight back, letting her disarm him, “everything’s alright,” she soothed. 

Kenshin looked back at his attacker and realized that he had been mistaken, as they stood up he realized that it had only been a child, and the katana was nothing more than a shinai.  _I made a mistake, there wasn’t an attack.  Tomoe is right, there’s nothing wrong here._   Just as Kenshin came to that conclusion he heard a faint clinking sound and his head turned quickly to see Hajime Saito, Captain of the Third Unit of the Shinsengumi standing at the edge of the marketplace, one hand on his sword, between him and Kenshin was a tall and dangerous looking man. 

Kenshin’s heart started pounding, realizing the danger that Tomoe was in, he reached back to take his sword back from her but her hand was empty, he didn’t realize that after she disarmed him she had passed the sword off to another.  He backed away, one hand out to protect Tomoe as the man stepped towards him and Saito watched.  “I will not let you harm her,” Kenshin told him in a snarl.

“Kenshin,” she whispered in a frantic voice, realizing the whole situation they were now in. 

“Tomoe, stay back!” Kenshin ordered, pushing her back and to safety as the man rushed towards him.  Kenshin raised his hands and blocked the man’s initial punch.  The man didn’t let up, he punched again and Kenshin raised his other arm to block.  Kenshin felt hindered, knowing that he had to keep himself between Tomoe and this man.  The man grabbed Kenshin’s sleeve and pulled him close to keep Kenshin from dodging his next attack.  Kenshin swept the arm the man he held, catching the man’s elbow and jerking it up in a makeshift joint lock, and used his opposite leg to roundhouse kick the man.

“Kenshin,” Tomoe screamed and Kenshin turned his attention away from the man before him to look back in fear of what had happened to Tomoe, forgetting the opponent in front of him. 

From where Kaoru was she could hear the crack as Sanosuke’s fist collided with Kenshin’s head and he hit the ground in a heap.   She flinched and hesitated for a moment to get up from where she fallen to the ground after Kenshin had shoved her back into Megumi and they had gone down in a tangle of arms and legs, Kenshin’s sakabato had clattered across the street a short ways when Megumi had dropped it after Kaoru had crashed into her.  Megumi was also starring in shock at what had happened, Kaoru glanced over to see that Yahiko was standing on shaky feet after Kenshin had attacked him, his eyes as big as a rice bowls.

“Yahiko are you okay?” she asked in a worried voice as Sanosuke shook his hand.

Yahiko glanced to Kaoru and nodded hesitantly, “I-I think so.  What just happened to Kenshin?” the boy asked, looking as though he was about to have a breakdown.  “Is he all right?”

  Kaoru looked back to Megumi and they shared an unspoken agreement, they both stumbled to their feet, Megumi went straight to Kenshin to make sure that Sanosuke hadn’t done any lasting damage while Kaoru ran to Yahiko, wrapping them up in her arms and soothing the boy.  “Everything’s all right Yahiko, Kenshin just got a little confused, that’s all.  I’ll explain everything later,” Kaoru assured the boy.    Yahiko looked at her with wide eyes, his chin trembling against the tears.

“Will he live?”  Sanosuke asked, still shaking his fist.

“He’ll live, we need to get him back to the dojo,” Megumi replied curtly.  She wrinkled up her nose as Sanosuke rubbed his hand.  “What’s your problem?”

“He’s got a hard head,” Sanosuke responded. 

“He’s not the only one around here,” Megumi muttered under her breath.

“What was that?”  Sanosuke asked.

“Oh nothing.”

Kaoru looked up past Sanosuke, her eyebrows furrowed, _I was sure I saw someone over there, maybe I just imagined it._   Kaoru shook her head and turned to the matter of getting Kenshin home.

Unbeknownst to Kaoru, the stalker was still there, only now he was blending into the shadows perfectly, his cold eyes watching as the group carried the unconscious Kenshin home while a few spectators in the marketplace who had seen the confutation take place, were left to speculate on the events they had witnessed.  He could only imagine what the rumor mills would churn about this red haired Rurouni who attacked a helpless child.

 _It seems that the girl might be the key to helping to bring out the Hitokiri, but in reverse she is also his major weakness.  She was the only one who could get close to him when he had become the Hitokiri,_ he thought.  He turned and made his way down another street, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it.  _This both makes things simpler and more complicated at the same time._

_***_

 “Do you understand now Yahiko?” Kaoru asked gently, one arm around the boy who had at least stopped shaking but Kaoru knew that Yahiko was still shook up by the events of the evening.  She knew from the fact that he was continuing to let her hold him.  They were all gathered in Kenshin room where they had taken Kenshin and laid him on his futon until he woke up.  Kaoru had Kenshin’s sakabato in her room, once she was sure that Kenshin was back to his old self she planned on returning it.

“I guess,” Yahiko answered.  “You’re basically saying that for some reason Kenshin thought he was back in the war and that’s why he acted the way he did.  But I don’t understand why he would think that?”

“Something triggered this,” Sanosuke responded, he had seen his share of ‘Warriors Curse’, to an extend he had himself experience some for the symptoms from time to time.  “Maybe the sight of something, the sound, who knows.  It could be anything.”

“So will he be all right when he wakes up?” Yahiko asked.

“Probably,” Megumi responded, laying one hand on Kenshin’s forehead.  “You didn’t have to hit him so hard,” she accused Sanosuke.  “Kaoru took his sword away from him.”

Sanosuke gave her a look, “he tried to kill the kid, the Missy might have gotten his sword away from him and was calming him down, but then for who knows what reason he got that crazy look in his eye again.  There was no way I was going to let someone with Kenshin’s history go crazy in Tokyo all because of an episode of Warriors Curse.  He’d never forgive himself he actually hurt someone in that state.”

“Leave him alone Megumi, Sanosuke did the right thing, we had to stop Kenshin as soon as possible, there’s no telling what he might have done otherwise,” Kaoru broke in.  She shuddered as she remembered the night with Jin-e when she had first seen Kenshin’s Hitokiri self.  That was never something she wanted to go through again.

“Well I still think-” Megumi started but broke off as Kenshin moaned and shifted slightly as he regained consciousness.  Everyone hushed as Kenshin opened his eyes, blinking a few times at the ceiling as he got his bearings. 

With a groan, Kenshin sat up, holding his aching head, “what happened to…”  He tensed as a he breathed in a familiar scent.  His heart started racing and he turned to Megumi with a look of horror and absolute loss on his face he scrambled away from everyone and towards the doors leading to the outside. 

“Ken-san?”  Megumi asked in concern, reaching out one hand towards him.

“Kenshin, calm down,” Kaoru told him a stern voice, realizing that for some reason Kenshin was going back into that state.  She let go of Yahiko and moved slowly towards Kenshin.  “What’s wrong Kenshin?” she asked gently.

Kenshin felt his body start to shake, “hakubaiko,” he whispered.  He couldn’t take it anymore, that scent so familiar, so tied with pain and misery that it was too much for Kenshin.  He tore open the doors to the courtyard and scrambled as quickly as he could into the courtyard, fleeing to the fresh air outside.  He ran to the back of the complex near one of the fruit trees, grabbing it to steady himself. 

Kaoru and Sanosuke turned to Megumi realizing that her perfume was responsible.  Megumi looked back in distress.  “Get her out of here,” Kaoru ordered Sanosuke who with a nod grabbed the stunned Megumi and hauled her to her feet, taking her out of the house another way to avoid Kenshin.  Kaoru turned to Yahiko, “stay here,” she ordered.  She got to her feet and followed Kenshin cautiously.  She wasn’t sure if it was the Rurouni or the Hitokiri she would find.  _Not that it matters, even in the marketplace he wasn’t trying to hurt me, he was only trying to protect me,_ Kenshin remained herself as she shook a little in fear.  _And he called me Tomoe…_  

She bit her lip as she remembered the story he father told her about his encounters with the Battosai who he had named as the ‘boy who fell through the ice’.  He had mentioned to Kaoru in his story that the boy had lost his lover, _so he had a lover in Kyoto, and her name was Tomoe.  And for some reason the scent of hakubaiko causes this reaction, was it her perfume then?_

“Kenshin,” Kaoru called as she approached him.

“Stay away,” Kenshin whispered back.

Kaoru paused where she was, “Kenshin, do remember me?”  Kaoru asked but got no response.  “Do you know who I am?”

Kenshin looked up at her, unshed tears in his eyes.  “Kaoru-dono, yes I know you.”

Kaoru smiled, realizing that it was the Rurouni and not the Hitokiri that she faced.  _Well this side of Kenshin I know how to treat._   “That’s right, do you remember what happened Kenshin?”

Kenshin gulped, “I attacked Yahiko by mistake, didn’t I?”

Kaoru nodded, “and then Sanosuke when he tried to stop you.”

“Are they…” Kenshin trailed off, looking away quietly.

“You didn’t hurt them,” Kaoru assured them in a rush.  “Everyone’s okay, we’re just worried about you,” Kaoru stepped closer, putting an arm around Kenshin.  “Are you okay now Kenshin?”

Kenshin gulped, “I don’t know,” he confessed, his voice trembling.

Kaoru wrapped her arms around Kenshin and he buried his face into her shoulder, _oh Kenshin,_ Kaoru cried wishing for not the first time that she could just wave her hand and make all the misery and pain Kenshin had ever endured vanish.  _Everything’s going to be all right isn’t it?_

_***_

Sanosuke walked through town, feeling a heavy burden on his soul after the affair with Kenshin the night before.  _First Katsuhiro and now Kenshin.  It seems that all my friends are going a little mad, but at least Kenshin doesn’t want to be that way,_ Sanosuke thought.

“Hey you!”  Sanosuke turned in surprise to see a familiar looking man.  It took him a moment to place where he had met the man before.  “Hey you’re the owner of that picture shop aren’t you?” Sanosuke asked.

The man nodded, “here I was told to give this to you by your friend Tsunan Tsukioka.”

“What!” Sanosuke replied in shock as the man grabbed a rolled paper out of his kimono.

“Here…” the man started but Sanosuke snatched the paper way before the man could finish.  Breathlessly, Sanosuke unrolled the paper to find it was a caricature of Captain Sagara sitting on a rock, his face at peace and with a slight smile on his face. 

“It’s…” Sanosuke trailed off breathlessly. 

“Tsunan- san said that it’s his final painting,” the storekeeper told Sanosuke with a shake of his head.  “I don’t know what he’s thinking but he says that he is going to start a newspaper to publicize the government’s wrongdoings.  I told him that he’s only going to get himself in trouble.”  The storekeeper sighed.  “And he was such a popular artist too.”

Sanosuke smiled at the man’s words, “well, sorry ‘bout that old man, thank you for this.”  Sanosuke glanced once more at the picture, in particular reading the inscription at the bottom, ‘Captain Sagara, Captain of the _Real_ Sekihotai.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some fun notes on this, I added in the conversation of 'where were you when this important event happened' after a conversation i had with my friends when we all discussing where we were when we heard about September 11th and the planes crashing into the Twin Towers. That got me thinking about other important events where people can tell you exactly where they were when they heard the news, things like Kennedy's Assassination, the Lunar Landing, etc. So I thought that might be a fun thing to do in Kenshin as well.
> 
> As a sidenote, this is the last chapter in this section, next week we move onto the last section of this book so stay tuned as we dive more into the 'Wolves of Mibu'.


	17. The Seikanron Debate

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case you were wondering about the chapter title, the Seikanron Debate was an actual event in Japan at this time due to the growing tension with Korea that I've already mentioned in the book, it eventually lead to Japan not going to war with Korea but there was a lot of tension on the matter until the decision was made. As this was a major thing happening in the country I thought it would be a fun tie in with the events going on in the story since I shifted the timeline somewhat.

**Part 3: The Wolves of Mibu**

**Chapter 16**

**The Seikanron Debate**

Ashikaga sat down, reading over the letter he had received.  He had secretly sent word to Takoyoshi Kido and Toshimichi Okubo about the current affair with Korea and urged them to return as quickly as they could. 

“My Lord, Goro-san is here to speak with you,” one of his servants announced as he opened the door and bowed.

Ashikaga looked up, “very well,” he replied and the servant moved aside so that Goro could enter the room.  Goro bowed in respect and Ashikaga motioned for him to take a seat.  “How are things going in the investigation?” he questioned. 

“Very well,” Goro answered.  “I’ve set up a meeting with the leader in person to discuss my first contract.”

“Who is your first contract?  Do you know yet?” Ashikaga asked.

“The Battosai,” Goro answered in a neutral tone.

Ashikaga took a quick double take, feeling a rush of apprehension.  There was nothing in Fuijita’s tone or face to betray that this was anything more than a standard mission for him, but then his face and manners never gave anything away.  _Given their past, can he be trusted to serve in this role?_   “I see,” Ashikaga answered smoothly, keeping his doubts to himself.  “Speaking of the Himura-san, what have you learned about him?”

“Very little I’m afraid, he seems to have allowed his skills to weaken, however…” Goro trailed off as he remembered the affair in the marketplace.  “The Hitokiri he was is still very much alive.  But there are complications.”

“What kind of complications?”

Goro thought about how Kaoru had with a few whispered words managed to disarm Kenshin and almost calm him before he had seen Fuijita and reverted back to his Hitokiri self.  A slight grin crossed his lips, “a complication that we can use against him if needed.”

***

Kaoru was tossing and turning in her bed, unable to get any sleep.  Her mind was turning over the past week.  Things hadn’t been the same. Kenshin seemed almost in a haze since then, so distinct that half the time Kaoru wasn’t sure he knew where he was.  And more than that she could sense how afraid he was that he might have another episode of forgetting where he was and this time actually hurting someone.  Kaoru thought back to earlier that day when Tae had come to visit, she closed her eyes as she remembered confessing to her friend that she woke every morning now, fearing that Kenshin might have slipped away in the night because of the guilt and shame he felt for what had happened. 

She sighed, turning over and listening closely to the sounds in the house, she wrapped her arms around Freckles who was curled up peacefully, not a care in the world.  She gently stroked the sleeping cat, wishing she could feel as peaceful with the world.  She froze when she heard Kenshin’s door slide slowly open and close, and the soft pad of footsteps on the porch outside.

She sat up in bed, her heart racing, _is he really leaving?_   She shook her head, trying to calm her fears, _you might just be jumping to conclusions Kaoru, he might just need to use the bathroom after all.  No need to panic._ She forced herself to lay back down and pet Freckles, listening with all her might for Kenshin’s return, every muscle in her body tense. 

After several minutes past she couldn’t take it anymore, she got out of bed, quietly sneaked out of her room, and gently slid back the door to Kenshin’s room, peaking inside the dark room.  She made out the vague shape of Kenshin’s bed, the covers thrown back carelessly, she stepped inside cautiously, feeling as though she was intruding and started checking to see if Kenshin’s things were still there, listening in case he came back.  As she started looking around the room she was suddenly struck by the fact that Kenshin had no processions, other than the sword he carried he had little else.  Even the clothes he wore had been a gift from her.  Kaoru bit her lip as she realized that Kenshin really had nothing to take with him that belonged to him.  She stepped out of the room, closing the door behind her, her heart pounding.  _Did he really leave, and I didn’t even try to stop him?_

She stood there, fighting the waves of panic.  _I’ve got to go after him!_   She thought fiercely, she ran back to her room, grabbed up a robe and wrapped it around her, tying an obi as she ran outside.  She was going straight to the side gate before she noticed the flicker of a light inside the dojo.  She paused, tipping her head, _is that where Kenshin is?_   She wondered.  She snuck forward up to the side door of the dojo and put her ear up to the door.  She could hear the sounds of someone moving in the dojo, silently she cracked the door open and peeked inside.

 Inside Kenshin was moving through some sort of form or drill, Kaoru wasn’t sure which.  She watched in amazement as Kenshin moved through the complicated moves, never showing a moment’s hesitation as he struck, pivoted to slash at another invisible opponent before dropping to a low crouch to slash low.  Kaoru’s eyes opened in surprise by the acrobats that were also involved with the form as Kenshin twisted to a one handed cartwheel, striking low and then as soon as his feet hit the ground he sprang into a backwards somersault.  She felt herself holding her breath as Kenshin ended the form with a thrust of his sword behind him, kneeling on one knee, his head down.  Kaoru inched a little closer to the door and flinched as the floorboard creaked. 

Kenshin looked around in surprise, “who’s there?” he called. 

Ashamed that she had been caught spying, Kaoru slid the door back, “it’s me, she replied softly, “I saw the light and came to see what was going on.  Sorry to disturb you.  I’ll go,” she started to close the door but Kenshin’s voice stopped her.

“No wait!”

Kaoru paused and then opened the door fully.

Kenshin looked as though he was struggling to find words before he looked away, “Kaoru-dono, are you upset with this one?”

“What?” Kaoru gasped.  She stepped inside, “Why would you think I was upset with you?”

“For what happened, for what I almost did…” Kenshin turned away from her in shame.  Kaoru stepped into the dojo and put a hand on his shoulder.

“Kenshin how many times do I have to tell you that no one blames you for what happened?  After everything you’ve been through, well it’s understandable.”

“But I could have hurt you,” he whispered faintly. 

“Stop it,” Kaoru pulled around to face her, grabbing both of his shoulders and shaking him a little, “stop beating yourself up about this.  The only one who blames you is _you_.” 

Kenshin lifted his head slight to look sadly at Kaoru.    “Kaoru I’m not sure you understand how dangerous things could be if…”

“My father almost killed me once,” Kaoru interrupted.  Kenshin froze, fully lifting his head, his mouth open slightly.  “Just a few days after he got back,” Kaoru went on.  “I woke hearing some strange noises, so went to see if anything was wrong.  The only thing that saved me was my training I managed to get away from him.  I didn’t know why he would do that.  Doctor Gensei had seen such things before and was able to explain it to me.  Every day after that until the day he died I had to bar my room closed every night and never, _ever¸_ leave my room.  So you see Kenshin, I do know, I do understand.  And I want to help you through this.”  She gave him a little smile and she felt a small bit of assurance when he smiled sadly back at her.  She let go of his shoulders, stepping back and dropping her hands to her side.

“Why are you up Kaoru-dono?” Kenshin asked suddenly.

Kaoru gasped a little, “I told you I saw a light and I…”

“No that’s why you came in, not why you woke up.”

Kaoru blushed and looked away, “well I heard you step out and thought that you might have left,” she finished in a whisper.  She looked back hoping to cover her confession, “do you often come into the dojo at night to practice?”  She asked in a rush.

Kenshin hesitated before replying, reflecting on the implications of Kaoru’s whispered confession.  “It’s a convenient place to practice, and if I do it when everyone’s asleep I don’t bother anyone.”  He looked away, “is that okay Kaoru-dono, if I practice here?”

“Of course,” Kaoru assured him in a rush.  “That’s what it’s for after all, you can practice anytime you want to.  I’ll get out of your way now.”  She turned to leave but Kenshin stopped her again. 

“Do you really think that I would leave just like that Kaoru-dono?” Kenshin asked.

Kaoru paused at the door, with a guilty face she turned around.  “Maybe for a moment,” she whispered. 

“Without even a goodbye?”

Kaoru blushed, “it was just passing thought that’s all.”  She was about to shut the door of the dojo behind her but hesitated, still feeling the tension of unspoken words between them.  She looked back over her shoulder to Kenshin who was watching her every moment intently.  “I love you Kenshin Himura, please don’t ever leave me,” she whispered.

Kenshin stared at the door after Kaoru left, hearing the pad of her footsteps fade as she walked back to her room.  “I don’t think I ever could Kaoru-dono,” he answered even though he knew that she was beyond hearing.

***

Kenshin had finally come to a decision.  After that night in the dojo and despite the nagging voice of doubt in the back of his mind after the night in the marketplace, Kenshin forced himself to act like himself again.  He ceased his brooding and tried to spend more time with the people around him instead of off on his own as he had after the incident.  It had also finally sealed a decision Kenshin had already previously made but had decided that it wasn’t yet the time to act upon his plan.  Kenshin closed his eyes for a moment, blocking out the sounds of Ayame and Suzume playing and the feel of the warm teacup in his hand as he remembered the heartbroken way that Kaoru had in a single breath confessed her feelings and her fear at losing him.  _She really believes that I could choose to leave her.  I don’t know if there are any words I can say to convince her otherwise._

“So sorry to keep you waiting Kenshin, my visit with the patient took longer than expected,” Doctor Gensei greeted as he stepped into the room.

Kenshin’s eyes snapped open and he gave the Doctor a friendly smile, “this one does not mind, it is more important you see to your patients.”

Doctor Gensei sat down across from Kenshin and poured himself a cup of the tea Megumi had prepared when Kenshin had arrived at the clinic asking for a private word with Doctor Gensei.  “So how are things at the dojo?”  Doctor Gensei asked pleasantly.

“Oh very well, just as this one was leaving Yahiko was receiving his daily lesson in manners for the sixth time,” Kenshin laughed.  “He has been in rare form lately.”

Doctor Gensei laughed and they talked of little manners for a few minutes before Doctor Gensei’s face changed from his usual pleasant demander to serious as he decided to move past the small talk and to the heart of Kenshin’s visit.  “So Kenshin, just what reason did you wish to speak with me in private?” He asked, he had a few suspicions (namely that it was because of Kaoru).

Kenshin sat down the teacup, his own face becoming serious.  He looked at the floor for a moment, gathering his thoughts about how to brooch the subject before he took a deep breath and looked into Doctor Gensei’s eyes.  “It’s about Kaoru-dono.”  Kenshin started, Doctor Gensei nodded slightly, his suspicions confirmed.  “And you know of this one’s intentions towards Kaoru-dono.”

“Of course,” Doctor Gensei answered, _everybody knows how you’ve been dragging your feet about finally setting a date and making your relationship official._   Doctor Gensei thought, his expression never changing.  _There’s even a betting pool on how long it will take before you marry her._

“This one has hesitated in taking things further than now because I had no wish to make Kaoru-dono feel pressured or rushed in any way.  But this one believes that Kaoru-dono’s wishes as the same as this one’s in this matter.  You have cared for Kaoru-dono as though she was your own daughter and are now the closest thing that she has to a father which is why this one has come to petition you for your permission and blessing for this one to make his offer of marriage to her.”

 _Pressured?  Rushed?_ Doctor Gensei thought in mild amusement, the expression on his face never changing.  _I think Kaoru’s been ready to marry you since, oh… eight months now or so.  The only reason it hasn’t been longer than that is because you didn’t meet until last February._

A hint of a smile crossed Kenshin’s face before it faded and his eyes darted away for a moment, “I don’t deserve her, and I never will.  I know that very well.  But this one wishes to spend the rest of his life with her, for her, to make her happy if I can.  And I realize that you might have some misgivings about this one after that affair in the marketplace the other night, but even then…  I’m trying to move past such memories, and Kaoru-dono helps more than you could know.”  The question hung between them for a moment as Kenshin awaited Doctor Gensei’s reply.  Doctor Gensei however, was busying drinking from his tea so Kenshin waited.

Doctor Gensei eventually sat down his mug, “I have no objection to the match,” he stated simply.  “Though if you truly are serious about this marriage I do ask that you learn how to duck, Kaoru-chan has very good aim.” He finished with a twinkle.  He had completely dismissed the affair in the marketplace not long after he heard of the affair, after all Kaoru had told him that Kenshin had never tried to hurt her and was in fact trying to protect her from what he in that state saw as a threat.

Kenshin grinned, “that she does.”  Relived that Doctor Gensei didn’t hold the affairs of the marketplace against him, and pleased that he has his blessing.

The men laughed unaware that behind the rice paper doors Megumi had been listening to the whole conversation between the men.  It confirmed her worst suspicions about Kenshin’s need to speak privately with Doctor Gensei, and she closed her eyes against the pain in her soul.  _I suppose most people have one unrequited love,_ she told herself practically.  _He shall always be mine._

_***_

Four men sat around a table, late in the night.  Two of them, Takoyoshi Kido and Toshimichi Okubo had recently returned from their trip to Europe earlier that evening and Aritomo Yamagata and Yuudai Ashikaga were busy filling them in on the latest happenings of the country.

 “Saigo has finally lost his mind,” Kido sighed.  “We will have to call a Council in the morning and put a stop to this talks of war with Korea.  His plan is insane.”

“I agree whole heartedly,” Yamagata added.  “This idea of his of going to Korea as an embassy and then giving them reason to kill him to justify a war is foolishness at best.”

“Is there any other great earth shattering crisis that we need to know about as well or has the rest of the country retained their good sense?” Okubo asked with sarcasm.  He was tired, the trip had been long and the last thing he had wanted to return to was a country on the verge of war.

Yamagata and Ashikaga looked between each for a moment before Ashikaga spoke up, “you remember that before you both left there was those ‘incidents’ that we believed a former hitokiri to be behind?  Well that has been confirmed.  Shishio is alive, and he has joined forces with a man named Sadokima Hoji, it is believed that Hoji’s have controlled most criminal organizations and yakuzua throughout the country for generations now.  We are not sure when they joined forces, but they are now moving slowly, spreading their influence across the country.  They have recently taken control of a small village south of Mt. Sanage called Shingetsu village.  We have tried several times to reclaim our hold on the village but to no avail.  And it’s only the latest village that he has moved against.”

“Dear god,” Kido swore, he remembered Shishio when he had recruited him 8 years before.  He had witness the first man he had killed, the traitor who had almost lead to Kenshin’s assassination by ninja hired by the Shogun to deal with the Choshu Hitokiri who had slaughter so many of his followers.  He had been shocked by the skill the man had demonstrated, but even more his attitude towards the murders.  Even then Kido had recognized that he would eventually become a threat as he carried out the killings in order to gain more power.  He had known then that Shishio would eventually use his position against the men who controlled him.  _He was nothing like Himura, Himura sacrificed everything for the cause and he never sought to use his power to gain a position.  Shishio was the opposite.  The only thing they had in common was their skill with a blade._

“We know his base of operation is somewhere near Kyoto, but he has spies throughout the country and he is constantly expanding his operations, we have managed to keep everything secret from the public for now but eventually he will take more drastic measures and we need to be prepared to stop him, quietly if possible, before he destroys everything.  And unfortunately, we were the ones who gave him the power to undo the Meji government.”  Ashikaga continued.

“What have we done so far?” Okubo demanded.  “Who do we have that could fight such a man?”

“Goro Fujita,” Ashikaga answered shortly.  “We have been working closely on the matter.”

“Fujita?” Kido asked before it clicked in his mind who Ashikaga meant, “oh yes, I almost forgot he’s changed his name now.”

Yamagata snorted, “I still don’t think that man is to be trusted, I do not believe that he truly works in the best interests of the government.”

“Do you have a better man in mind?” Ashikaga asked in slight annoyance, he had been spending years defending Fujita against Yamagata, though he would never admit that he had his own suspicions of the man, especially with his former status during the revolution.

“Himura-sama, he’s the one I would ask.” Yamagata declared.  “He is a man we know would never betray us.”

Kido looked up from his musings in shock.  “Himura-san?  But he disappeared after Tobu Fushimi.”

Yamagata smiled, “I found him, 7 months ago, he’s living right here in Tokyo, as a border at a small dojo on the west side of town.”

“And he’s already refused your offer to be in the army, do you think that he would be willing to mix himself up in this affair?” Ashikaga asked.  “Besides, we can’t be sure if he’s kept his skills sharp in these years.  I know he’s gotten mixed up in a few affairs here in town but that doesn’t mean that he can still stand up against someone like Shishio.”

“Just because your lap dog says one thing does not make it true,” Yamagata challenged.

“That’s enough,” Okubo silenced them before the argument could continue.  “There is no point fighting among ourselves.  And there is no harm in asking for his help.”

“But would he even accept is my question?” Ashikaga protested. 

“He will not accept,” Kido broke in a soft voice.  “I know him best of all, and I know why he left.  Don’t involve him in this.”  He looked at the shocked expressions of his comrades.  “It’s late, tomorrow will be a long day, we should all get some sleep.”  Kido bowed to the others and left the room. 

Okubo waited until he was sure that Kido was out of earshot.  “Ashikaga, despite what Kido thinks there may be the possibility that Himura-san will help us.   And the gods know we could use all the help we can get.  We will discuss the matter in more detail after we settle this business with Korea.  For now, goodnight.”

***

Yahiko sat on the back porch, avoiding the chores that Kaoru had set to him, pleading that he wanted to learn more about the growing situation with Korea and how the country was hovering on the edge of war and that the paper had several articles on the subject.  Kaoru had accepted this excuse, a little surprise that the boy was showing any interest in the matter and she told him that he was excused from chores to read on the matter, but that he was expected to hold a conversation with her later about it.  So Yahiko was reading what the paper had on the subject as slowly as he could, partly to make sure that he had committed the name of the key people involved in the situation to memory, partly to avoid mopping the floor.

Kenshin carried out the tub full of laundry and started hauling up water from the well to start the washing.  He spotted Yahiko sitting on the porch his head buried in the paper.  Kenshin’s eyebrows furrowed, he couldn’t remember the last time he had seen Yahiko so intently studying anything that didn’t involve a sword.  “Yahiko, is there something interesting in the paper?”  Kenshin asked. 

Yahiko’s head shot up, “oh, Kenshin.  I’m yeah I’m trying to get caught on the current situation with Korea, that’s all.”  Yahiko’s eyes went straight back to the paper. 

Kenshin poured a bucket of water into the tub, still watching Yahiko.  “I can’t remember the last time that you showed such an interest in politics, that I cannot.”

Yahiko lowered the paper a little, glancing around to see if Kaoru was in vicinity.  He jumped down from the porch and joined Kenshin at the well.  “Well the truth is that I’m using it as an alternative to chores, all I have to do is pretend to read and then learn enough about the situation to convince Kaoru later that I was really studying the matter.  Don’t tell Kaoru.”

Kenshin choked on a laugh, “you know Yahiko if you devoted as much time and energy on doing the chores instead of coming up with ways to get out of them, Kaoru-dono would probably run out of things for you to do.”

“You can’t be sure of that,” Yahiko whispered back with a scared look.  “She can always come up with work to do.  Better to be safe than sorry,” with that the boy sat down with his back to the well and continued his intent reading.

Kenshin shook his head in amusement.  “So what have you learned so far on the matter?”

“Well it says here that Okubo, the Finance Minster, and Kido, an Imperial Advisor, just got back to Japan last night.  Apparently, they are holding a big meeting on the affair today.  According to this, Okubo and Kido are opposed to it.”  Yahiko explained before an idea hit him.  “Hey this Kido guy, he’s supposed to have been the leader of the Choshu fraction during the war.  Wasn’t that the fraction you were with?”

“Yes that’s right,” Kenshin confirmed as he mused on what Yahiko had said.  _If they have returned to Japan then this matter with Korea will probably end peacefully.  There is no way they would ever allow Saigo to continue this idiocy._

“So then you must have worked with Kido then?”

“This one knew him as Katsura Kogoro during the war, that was the name he used then.  But yes, he was the one that this one took his orders from.”

“So what do you think, will he’ll let Saigo go through with the war?”

“No,” Kenshin responded firmly.  “He will know that war is not what is needed.”

Yahiko sat back with a little satisfaction, knowing that with what he had learned from his readings and from Kenshin he should have enough information to convince Kaoru that he had really studied the topic when he had really just skimmed the articles and spent the rest of his time pretending to read while he day dreamed. 

Kenshin had finished filling up the tub and had started scrubbing the items clean one by one.  “Actually Yahiko, this one has a matter I would like to discuss with you man to man.”  Kenshin stated, restarting their conversation. 

That got Yahiko’s attention and he put down the paper in an instant.  _Man to man?_   Yahiko thought with a flush of excitement and pride as Kenshin gave him one of his most serious expressions.  _What could it possibly be?_   “What is it Kenshin?”  Yahiko asked in a rush.

“You know how this one has been walking out with Kaoru-dono,” Kenshin stated, “with the intention of courting her favor?”

 _And how slugs move faster than you guys,_ Yahiko finished. 

“This one has asked for and received the permission and blessing of Doctor Gensei to ask Kaoru-dono to marry, and now I wish to ask you for yours, and also to learn what your feelings on this matter are and any concerns that you have.  I know that this will change how things have been here in the dojo and…”

“You mean like you and Kaoru finally sharing a room?” Yahiko interrupted with a raised eyebrow.  “Because honestly that’s the only difference I see in the situation.”

Kenshin’s face went blank, _well there’s more to it than that…_

Yahiko rolled his eyes, “you really think I have a problem with you marrying Kaoru?  Well other than the fact you’re making a _huge_ mistake marrying a crazy person, I’ve got no problems with it and don’t really see things changing all that much around here.”

“So you have no issues with the arrangement?”

Yahiko gave Kenshin a look, “not a one.  Though…”  Yahiko trailed off uncomfortably.

“What is it Yahiko?” Kenshin asked in concern.

Yahiko looked away, obviously ill at ease, “there is one thing I’d like to say on the matter, and it’s kinda of embarrassing.”

“It’s all right Yahiko,” Kenshin assured the boy.  “Just say what you wish to say, don’t worry about how to phase it.  This one will not hold it against you if you do not phase things in a ‘proper’ way.”

Yahiko continued to look away, biting his lip as he tried to work himself up to saying it.  “Well when I was with the yakuzua,” he started to explain.  “Let’s just say they didn’t really care what I might have seen or heard when they were…  When they weren’t doing any work for the yakuzua, and when you and Kaoru get married.  I- I’d really prefer if you waited to do certain things until after I’m asleep.”  The boy glanced at Kenshin to see if he understood what he was getting at.

Kenshin’s face was initially puzzled until it clicked what Yahiko was referring to and then it quickly turned to a look of shock mixed with horror, his mouth opened a couple of times to respond but nothing came out.  Kenshin closed his eyes and took a deep breath to steady himself.  “This one never had other intentions on the matter Yahiko.”  He assured the boy. 

“Well good,” Yahiko replied.  They both looked away, feeling the awkwardness of the matter.

“Did you have any other concerns?” Kenshin asked, _after all, anything else he brings up can’t possibly be as embarrassing as that was for both of us._

“Just one last thing,” Yahiko turned back to Kenshin with a serious look.  “So how long before you actually ask Kaoru, are we talking months or years here?  Based on your track record so far I’m putting my money on 2 months till you ask, 3 weeks before she gives you an answer.  And 5 years before you guys actually marry.”

“You...” Kenshin grabbed a wet towel and attempted to throw it at Yahiko, but Yahiko, trained in the fine art of dodging flying missiles due to his history with Kaoru, leapt away easily and took off running with a boyish laugh, leaving Kenshin fuming behind him.

A door of the house slid back as Kaoru stepped out with a basket to go gather vegetables from the garden.  She stared at Kenshin picking up the wet towel from the ground, muttering under his breath.  “Did I miss something?” she asked in curiosity.

Kenshin glanced up to her, “Yahiko just being his charming self.”

Kaoru’s eyebrows raised in amusement, “so he’s starting to get on your nerves now?  And here I was thinking you had the patience of Buddha with that boy.”

***

 “So you would have us do nothing!  Have you lost all your pride?  This is an insult to all of Japan!  They deserve war!”  Saigo slammed his fist down on the table, screaming at his rage to the others. 

“We have no reason to go to war!” Yamagata yelled back, trying to talk some sense into Saigo who seemed almost beyond reason.

“Saigo listen to me,” Takoyoshi Kido, Imperial Advisor and during the Bakumatsu leader of the Choshu fraction, tried to reason.  He, with Toshimori Okubo, the Finance Minster, had just returned from the Iwakurao Mission.    They with Saigo were consider the three great Imperialists of the revolution for it was they who had lead the revolution.  “Japan has been isolated from the world for almost 300 years, do you think the rest of the world has stood still in that time?  Do you have any idea how far advanced the rest of the world has become while we have stood alone in our isolation?”  Kido explained, his voice calm and level.  “The small steps that we are taking to modernize Japan now still do not compare to where the rest of the world is.  Japan is weak, we need to further strengthen our contrary and stress diplomacy, not start a war we cannot win.”

“Besides the treasury cannot afford another war so soon,” Okubo supported.  As the Finance Minister he was well aware of the shortcomings in the budget, he had even started to supplementing parts of the budget with his own income, though that was a fact that he shared with no one.  “You would bankrupt a nation and doom us to an invasion all to settle _your_ wounded pride?”

“Besides, you think just because they send a few diplomatic envoys home with their pride wounded that we have a good reason to go to war?”  Ashikaga asked with raised eyebrows.

“I had already thought of that, if I was to go with another envoy to Korea, if I provoked them into killing me that surly that would be a reason to go to war,” Sagio explained.

“I know that we have been gone for a few years Sagio-san but have you completely lost your mind in that time?” Kido demanded incredulously.  “How could you ever think that a war with Korea is what our country needs at this point?  How can we prove to any nation that we are a stable government and that they should trade with us if we are constantly going to war with every nation that so much as looks at us the wrong way?”

“And you would let this insult go unnoticed?” Sagio replied, his voice fuming.

Ashikaga sighed and rubbed his forehead, he had a feeling that this debate would go on for a very long time.

***

Kenshin watched the special combined training session of the Kamiya and Maekawa dojo’s that was being held at Master Maekawa’s dojo.  Kenshin normally enjoyed watching such things, it gave him an interesting insight into how most masters taught the art of kenjutsu, master’s that weren’t his own Master.  Even in training with nothing to base his experience on, Kenshin had known that some of his Master’s practices were eccentric at best, after living with Kaoru and watching the lessons she gave he now knew that almost every practice he had endured was bordering on sadistic and torture. 

Today however he was distracted as he rehearsed in his head how he wanted to ask Kaoru to marry him, in fact he had spent most of the night thinking about the situation.  _But before I can ask such a thing I have to be honest and tell her the whole story of Tomoe,_ Kenshin told himself firmly.  He cringed at the thought of reliving the whole ordeal and what Kaoru’s reaction might be.  _But to not allow her all the facts about my past before we are married would be trickery and dishonest.  And besides, I’ve already learned the hard way what keeping secrets from the ones we love can lead to…_ Kenshin continued through most of the seminar thinking of how best to tell the story, reliving the moment over and over in his head. 

“Kaoru-sensei, might we ask you a question?” one of Master Maekawa’s students asked respectful when they stopped for a break for the boys to rest and rehydrate before the training continued. 

Kaoru glanced up in surprise, “sure what is it?” she asked as she started draining the mug of water a student had brought for her.

“With all that talk about us going to war with Korea, we started talking, I mean I know that’s past us now and we won’t be going to war and all since the debate has ended.  But anyways we were asking Master Maewaka this the other day but we were wondering based on the principles of your school if your answer would be any different.”  The student started explain.

Kaoru gave the boy a look as he rambled on, “is the question coming before or after the dissertation?” she asked in mild amusement.

The student flushed, “well, I…  Right, anyways the question we were posing is what is a reason for a man to fight?  At what point does one refuse to comprise and stand their ground, and when do they simply allow such things to be?”

The question sparked Kenshin’s attention and he lifted himself from his own musing of the past to listen to what Kaoru’s answer might be.  Something about the question stirred something deep inside himself.

Kaoru smiled at the question, a proud kind of smile a parent might give to a child.  “That is an excellent question, and I do have an answer I assure you, but I’m also curious what my own students might have to say to that.  So students, does anyone have an answer to that?”  Kaoru looked over to her students and all she got in response was wide eyes and a few glancing to other’s hoping someone else would answer the question. 

“Okay let me pose this another way,” Kaoru continued, realizing that if she simplified the question she would be more likely to get a response.  “What would you be willing to fight for?  What would you never back down from?”’

More glancing around before the youngest, Naoki raised his hand and Kaoru motioned for the boy to speak, “you should never let anyone push you around like bullies so you should always defend yourself.”

“Well the youngest one has an answer what is the rest of you guy’s excuse?” Kaoru teased gently, “yes Naoki-chan,” Kaoru told him with a proud smile, “you should always defend yourself when you’re attacked, what else?”

“Your family,” Hurou piped up, inspired by Naoki’s words.

“Your friends,” Sho added.

“Really anyone you might meet who needs help, like if you came across someone in trouble or something,” Hayate supplied.

“Good, good, what else, think a little broader than just people,” Kaoru hinted.

“Your home?” Kohaku asked.  “like don’t let someone burn it down or rob it, that kind of thing.”

“What else,” Kaoru continued to prompt. 

They were silent for a moment as they tried to think about it before finally Miyashita raised his hand.  “I’m not sure if this is really what you’re looking for sensei but not that long ago my father’s business was in some trouble because of this other merchant who used some pretty underhanded dealings to drive others out of business and force them to sell their business.  Well anyways, my father refused to sell to him because if he did then he wouldn’t be able to provide for us anymore and so he got a group of merchants together that refused to give into the crooked merchant’s demands and eventually they were able to prove some of the illegal things that man had been doing.  Anyways, what I was getting at was also defending your ability to provide for your family and yourself.”

Kaoru dipped her head in response.  “An excellent example,” she turned back to the student who originally asked the question, “my answer and my students answer is the same and is in accordance with the philosophy and teachings of Kamiya Kasshin-ryu.  The reason for a man to fight is to defend himself and those around him, be they family, friends, or random strangers he meets along his way.  But also to defend his home, his livelihood, his very way of life.  Now I ask you, is there really any better reason for a man to fight?”  That question hung in the air for a moment before Kaoru continued.  “Now I’m not saying go out and try to save the whole world, armies have tried in the past and have failed so one man alone can’t possibly do it.  But if good men just protect and seek the betterment of their own corner of the world without putting down others and helping their neighbor along the way, then together couldn’t they create a perfect world where we would all live in peace?”

 _A perfect world where we could live in peace,_ Kenshin thought.  _In my life I heard many speak building of a new world, but with all I’ve seen of those methods and their results I think Kaoru-dono’s revolution for a new world is the only one that would ever work.  Not to save the whole world, just your small piece of it._


	18. The Shadow of the Wolf Draws Near

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bonus chapter for the holiday, hope you all enjoy it!

**Chapter 17**

**The Shadow of the Wolf Draws Near**

It was another night in Kyoto, a full moon rose over the world a haze of red that made it seem as though it was stained with all the blood that had been spilt in the city in the name of a new age of peace for all.  In the midst of the city, gathered in an upper room of an inn was a group of men, supporters of the Imperialist movement. 

“I just heard the news, apparently members of the government army from the Choshu and Satsuma areas are coming to Kyoto one by one,” one of the men stated.

“Yeah it looks the plan to overthrow the government has finally started,” another added.

Unbeknownst to the men upstairs, outside of the inn a group of men wearing blue and white mountain stripes of the Shinsengumi was gathering outside of the inn.   “Is this the place?” one whispered to the other.

“This is the inn that they spy said they would be at.  In one of the upper rooms.” The hushed answer came back.

The team leaders of the two units of the Shinsengumi who were gathered at the inn nodded in response.  “Move in,” one of the leaders whispered and the units started to move quietly into the inn in search for the Imperialist meeting. 

Meanwhile in the meeting upstairs the men continued, unaware of the approaching threat.  “We’ll stand with them!”

“Yeah!”

The leader of the group smiled a little at the support he was receiving.  “The first thing we should do is take control of the Kyoto Shoshidai,” he began, about to lay out the plan.

Downstairs the lookout for the Imperialist group saw the Shinsengumi members moving through the inn room by room, he took a few startled steps back from the members and they saw the look of horror on the man’s face.  They started forward to him and the man bolted up the stairs.  The pad of footsteps on the stairs halted the Imperialist leader upstairs in the middle of his speech.  “Customers on the second floor, you’ve got to get away!” the lookout yelled.

The Imperialist group immediately got to their feet, weapons in hand, facing the door, ready for the attack.  The door slid open to revel the man posted as lookout stabbed through the chest, blood running down his mouth, “Mibu’s wolves are…” the man trailed off as the katana was extracted from his body and he made a gurgling noise as he fell to the ground, his blood seeping across the floor.  The Shinsengumi member who had stabbed the man looked with distain at the group before him and beyond the Imperialists could see the whole hallway was filled with Shinsengumi.

“Shinsengumi!”  One of the Imperialists spat in fury.

“The wolves of Mibu are looking for blood,” another added as the Shinsengumi members kicked down the door, opening up more room for them to attack the Imperialists.  “No matter what you do the era of the Tokugawa is at an end!” the Imperialist finished.

The leader of the Third Unit of the Shinsengumi smiled a little at the man’s words.  “Is that all you have to say?” he asked in hard voice.  “No matter how the times may change, our truth never will.”  He assured them.  “Aku Soku Zan,” he repeated slowly, giving weight to each word as he slowly withdrew his katana.  “Slay evil immediately.  That is the essence of Shinsengumi.” 

One of the Imperialists kicked the lamp over, casting the room into darkness.  At that the Shinsengumi members charged forward, the flash of swords and the clang of metal on metal filled the air. 

The leader of the first unit of the Shinsengumi, a young man known as Okita, slashed through the enemies and through the rice paper doors to the outside balcony in the process, a single firefly from the outside flew into the chaos in the room, its light reflected in Okita’s blade.  A few of the Imperialists saw an escape over the rooftops and dashed over the balcony and to the rooftop.  Okita leapt after them, with a slash of his sword he wounded one before another of the Imperialists turned on him.  Okita blocked the man’s attacks, before with a flick of his own blade he knocked the man’s weapons away and jumped forward in a thrust through the man’s neck that slashed the carotid arteries, causing a blood spray across his young face.  Okita didn’t even flinch when the warm blood sprayed across his face, by this point in the war such things were as familiar as a mother’s embrace to him.  Okita saw the man he had wounded grabbed by a third Imperialist and they made their way across the rooftops jumping from building to building before they jumped down into an alleyway.  Okita started to follow them before he doubled over in a violent coughing spell.  He covered his mouth as the coughing continued, when the spell had finally passed the leader of the third unit of the Shinsengumi, Hajime Saito stood next to him and a few other members of the Shinsengumi behind them. 

Okita withdrew his hand that was covered in blood, he wasn’t sure if it was blood from the men he had killed or his own. 

“Which way did they go?” Saito asked him.

“That way,” Okita gestured.  “They won’t be able to make it far, one of them is wounded.

Saito nodded, “you men go around that way and try and cut them off,” he ordered.

Meanwhile, several streets over the two Imperialists panted as they made their way as fast from the carnage of the inn as they could.  They paused for a moment as they heard the whistles in the night alerting other units of the Shinsengumi to the area. 

“Leave me here and run,” the wounded man said to the other who was half supporting him, half carrying him down the street as he held the wound in his side, the blood oozing between his fingers and the pain rippled through his body with every breath. 

“Don’t be foolish,” his partner scoffed.   “I’m not going to leave you here to die.  Not when the new ear we dream of is about to began.”  _Besides, they would probably find and kill both of us anyways._  

“There they are.”

“Over there.”

The Imperialists looked up to see the street before them was five Shinsengumi members.

“Damn it, is this the end?” the uninjured man asked in fury.  

“Not yet friends,” a deep voice replied from behind the men.

The Imperialists turned their heads quickly to see a small figure step out of the shadows and stride leisurely but with purpose towards them, his hands tucked into his sleeves.  The young man had red hair, a cross shaped scar on his left check, and eyes that burn with an unquenchable fire. 

“Battosai!” the uninjured man gasped, recognizing the man from the descriptions he had heard.  He also knew enough of his reputation as a fighter to realize that this was their salvation from certain death.  

“It’s the Battosai,” the Shinsengumi members gasped.  Meanwhile Battosai continued to stride forward until he stood between the Imperialists and the Shinsengumi.  “Forget the others, don’t let the Hitokiri escape.” One of the Shinsengumi members ordered, knowing that between the Battosai and a couple of indiscriminate Imperialists which was the greater prize.

The Shinsengumi members charged forward and Battosai rushed forward to meet them, removing his hands from his sleeves with a flick and drawing his sword in the blink of an eye.  He twisted away from the first man’s attack and slashed through his body with ease.  He stepped forward to grab the next man’s sword arm as he raised his sword to strike him, blocking the attack and then twisting his katana to thrust through the man’s chest.  He angled the katana upwards through the man’s heart before shoving the man backwards into the third and fourth member of the squad, reliving the dead man of his katana at the same time, as he pivoted on his heel to block an attack from the fifth member.  Battosai used his borrowed weapon to slash at the man’s legs and he collapsed to the ground with a scream.  As Battosai spun to face the third and fourth he slashed with his katana in that same motion, beheading the fifth member and ending his screams.  Battosai raised both of his weapons, effectively blocking both attacks by the third fourth men.  He kicked the third man back before he blocked the next attack of the fourth man and then used his second katana to slash the man’s throat open.  Before the third man could leap back to attack him Battosai threw his borrowed katana and impaled the man who dropped to the ground, bleeding out his last.  The whole thing had lasted the space of only a few moments.

  Battosai straightened up, pulled out a cloth and started wiping his blade clean carefully when Saito and Okita arrived on the scene to find that the Battosai had slaughter all the men they had sent to kill the Imperialists who had escaped from the inn. 

Okita smiled as he saw Battosai, “it’s been awhile Battosai-san,” he greeted, thrilled at the chance to cross blades again with this master of the sword.  Battosai glared at them, the fire in his eyes seeming to burn without end.  Okita drew his sword and prepared to charge forward but Saito held his hand out, stopping him.

“Okita-kun¸” Saito warned.  “You stand down.”

“There is no need to be concerned, I am the leader of the Shinsengumi Squad One,” Okita assured him. 

“Yes but you are ill in the lungs,” Saito replied with a piercing gaze. 

Okita straighten up, _how long has he known?_   He wondered, he did his best to hide his illness from everyone.

 “You can’t fool my eyes.”  Saito finished and Okita gulped but resheathed his sword and stood down as Saito stepped forward.    “I, Hajime Saito, Leader of the Third Squad of the Shinsengumi, will kill Hitokiri Battosai!”

Saito charged forward and Battosai threw away the cloth in his hand and he jumped forward to meet Saito’s charge, their blades clanging together, and the blows that followed were almost faster than the eye could follow.  Their blades locked and they fought against the other’s strength for a moment before they both push away, leaping back from the other.  Saito crouched down, holding his katana in his left hand, his right arm outstretched and he pulled the katana back almost as though it was an arrow in some giant bow. 

Kenshin braced himself, _the gatasu,_ he thought as Saito sprang forward and he moved forward to meet that attack…

“Kenshin!”

Kenshin’s eyes snapped open and he looked around, trying to remember where he was.

“C’mon, get up!”  Yahiko told him in exasperation.  He was tired after a day of training at Master Maekawa’s dojo and wanted to go home and rest.

“Our training visit is over,” Kaoru informed him.

“Kenshin…?” Kenshin asked, confused for a moment about where he was and who these people were, still not fully awake.

Kaoru and Yahiko gave each other a look before both of them slapped Kenshin on the check, each for a different side.  “We’re talking here!  Is there another Kenshin around?” Yahiko asked.

“What were you dreaming about?” Kaoru wondered aloud while Kenshin rubbed his wounded face.

“C’mon, let’s go home,” Yahiko pleaded.

Kaoru nodded and grabbed Kenshin by the arm hauling him to his feet, “you heard the boy,” Kaoru ordered as she marched Kenshin out of the dojo.

_Why on earth do I put up with this?_   Kenshin wondered, getting his feet under him and shaking off Kaoru’s death grip on his arm once they were out in the street proper.  He tried to shake off the uneasy feeling that the dream gave him, _you’ve been spending too much time thinking of the past,_ he told himself.  _It’s not like it’s so kind of omen or anything, it is just with everything else it is natural that I should dream about then.  I shouldn’t let it bother me._   Kenshin took a deep breath, forced a smile on his face, and looked around with a happiness that he didn’t feel.  He glanced over to see some children running by the river laughing with long scarves of fabric trailing from their outstretched hands.  He smiled a little at the sight until one of those scarves flipped over in the wind and reveled the pink under color.  To Kenshin’s eyes it was the color of blood and the blood spreading across the earth behind the child, the whole world covered in blood…

_No, no, it’s just your imagination,_ Kenshin shook his head to clear it and erase the frightening images.  He then proceeded to give himself a mental pep talk about not letting his mind dwell on such things and that he need to live in the present and put the past behind him and move forward.

Kaoru let Yahiko walk in front as she fell back to walk beside Kenshin who was in the middle of giving himself a mental pep talk.  “So Kenshin what were you dreaming about?  You seem more out of it than usual.”

Kenshin’s eyes never left the road before him, “the Shinsengumi,” he answered simply.

Kaoru nodded, not seeming surprised by his words.  “I thought you were in a deeper sleep than usual.”  She remarked.  “So you were dreaming about the past.”

“To tell the truth, until recently this one hasn’t thought, much less dreamed of those days,” Kenshin confessed.  He was going to leave things there but he caught the glance from Kaoru, that yearning in her eyes to hear more but it was a desire she would never speck aloud out of respect.  _You said that you were going to start opening up more to Kaoru-dono,_ Kenshin told himself.  _Now is as good of time as any._   “Our swords crossed many times during the war,” he continued.  “Originally the Shinsengumi were a group of samurai of the Edo and Tama region employed by the guardian of Kyoto.  When the different fractions of the revolutionaries had fallen into their individual feuds they turned a peaceful city of Kyoto in to a bloody city.  That’s when the Shinsengumi took up their swords to uphold the laws.  They called themselves the Wolves of Mibu.  Everyone soon learned to fear and respect the light blue haori with white mountain stripes and to stand aside when they came with their red banner bearing the character makoto- truth.  They walked into a fight armed with their traditional weapons against a group of rebels who slowly began using modern weapons and were eventually defeated.  But they were and always will be the largest and strongest group of samurai in Japanese history.”

“But they say that the Shinsengumi would lead groups to attack single fighters, isn’t that a bit cowardly?”  Kaoru asked.

Kenshin smiled a little in response, “their mission wasn’t to duel,” he explained.  “It was to keep the peace in Kyoto.  It is true though that not all of them were strong or honorable.  But the officers, especially the team leaders of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd of the ten total units.  They were astonishing.”

“If they were units, why were they called ‘team leaders’?” Kaoru asked in confusion.  It has always been a point that she had never understood.

“Well…” Kenshin struggled with an answer.  “I don’t really know.  But anyways against the leaders of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd units. This one fought them several times and those fights were never finished for one reason or another.  Rumors has it that all of those men have died now and it feels like such a loss.”

Kaoru gave him a strange look, “they were your enemy weren’t they?  You’re pretty sympatric towards men that would have killed you on sight if they had the chance.”

“Mmm, it’s not quite like that Kaoru-dono,” Kenshin explained.  “We were on different sides that’s true, but there was nothing personal.  Whatever our personal politics, we all fought with our lives and beliefs riding on our swords.  Compared to the ex-revolutionaries of today in the government, time has brought _them_ closer.”  He glanced over to see the look Kaoru was giving him.  “You find that odd don’t you?”

“No it’s not that,” Kaoru shook her head.  “It’s just that you never usually talk about your past, and never about the war.”  She gave him a smile of reassurances.  _This is the first time that Kenshin seems as though he’s really opening up to me._

Kenshin stopped suddenly, for the first time it finally seemed right to talk to Kaoru about things he had hesitated in doing before.  Kaoru halted and looked back at him curiously.  Ahead Yahiko had turned around to see how far behind they had fallen and started calling for them to hurry up because he wanted dinner.

“Is something wrong Kenshin?” Kaoru asked in concern.

Instead of addressing Kaoru, Kenshin turned to Yahiko, “just head home without us Yahiko,” he urged the boy.  “We’ll be there it a bit.  There are some snacks on the top shelf to help tide you over until dinner.”

“Just hurry up,” Yahiko yelled back before he took off running down the streets, eager to have something to eat.

Kenshin turned back to Kaoru, “Kaoru-dono, there is something I have to tell you and you’ve waited more than long enough to hear it.”

“What is it?” Kaoru asked, stepping closer.  A couple of men talking between themselves started coming down the road and they both glanced to them, Kenshin gestured to Kaoru and she followed him down to a secluded part of the river not far from the dojo, it was the little spot they liked to go to together in the evenings. 

When they reached the little spot, Kaoru waited breathlessly, sensing the importance of what Kenshin had to say and how difficult it would be for him.  

“The story I have to tell you Kaoru-dono is the reason why I took a vow not to kill at the end of the war, why I refused a position in the government when I was offered, why I left after the Battle of Tobi Fushimi, and how…” Kenshin trailed off a little before continuing.  “And how I received this scar,” Kenshin reached up to his face, tracing the lines carved in his skin.  “It’s the story of a woman named Tomoe.”

“She was your lover in Kyoto wasn’t she?” Kaoru asked softly.  Kenshin started a bit and Kaoru explained in a rush, “when Papa told his story about you he said that you had had a lover who had died, and in the marketplace you called me Tomoe.”

Kenshin eyes closed for a moment, “yes, you are right, but there is more to the tale than just that I’m afraid.”

“Tell me,” Kaoru asked in a whisper.

***

Sanosuke leaned back against the steps into the dojo chewing on a piece of straw, staring at the sky.  He heard a set of footsteps approaching and he eagerly straighten up, hoping that was Kenshin and the others returning only to realize that the footsteps outside the complex continued on down the road.  He slumped on his knees in despair.  “Man I was counting on getting some free food today, where the hell are they?  They better not be somewhere like the Akebeko right now!”  He swore, _and they would do it too, go out and enjoy a nice beef pot and leave me to starve._

“Hello there!”  Sanosuke glanced up to see a tall, lean man in a simple suit of clothes, stride forward with a chest on his back like a peddler would carry.

“And you are…?” Sanosuke asked, wondering what kind of intrusion this was into his musings on food. 

“I’m a pharmacist from Tama, specializing in a medicine called Ishida Sanyaku,” the man replied in a pleasant smile, a smile on his face.  He set the chest down and Sanosuke noticed the marking on the side, of a circle with two lines making a roof above it.  The peddler took off his hat to properly introduce himself.  “I’m Goro Fujita, pleased to meet you.”  He started to open the chest and pull out one of the small packages inside, “if you have the time I’d be pleased to tell you all about how this Ishida Sanyaku heals bruises and broken bones…”

“Hey hold a minute,” Sanosuke interrupted in a rush.  “I don’t live here.  Everyone who lives here is gone at the moment and I’ve got no money.”

“Oh I see, that’s a shame,” Goro replied, starting to put the medicine back.

“Hey you,” Sanosuke started with a sparkle in his eye.  “You’ve got some narrow eyes you know that?”

Goro looked back up, never losing his smile for a second, “Yes I was born with them, I’m afraid that I can’t help what I’m born with sir.”

Sanosuke snorted in response, he grabbed the peddler’s hand and turned it over, revealing his palms. “Yeah but I bet an apothecary like you weren’t born with these calluses, looks like they came from a sword to me, so start talking.  Who the hell are you?”

Goro’s smile turned wicked and his eyes opened more fully, reveling a piercing glare.  “You have sharp eyes, I’m impressed Sanosuke Sagara.”

Sanosuke jumped back in shock that this imposter would know his name.  “What?!” he demanded.

“So it seems the Battosai isn’t home,” Goro mused as he reached one hand up to the back of his neck and drew out a blade that had been concealed on his back.  “Then I suppose the proper thing to do is to leave him a gift.”

_This guy knows Kenshin’s past and he comes with a hidden weapon, but what is his reason for doing it?  Why does he want to fight Kenshin?_   Sanosuke wondered.  _And who is he really?_  

“I may not know exactly what’s going on here but if you think I’m going to let you anywhere near Kenshin you’re wrong!”  Sanosuke challenged.

“So be it,” Goro replied simply.  He only shifted slightly to the side as Sanosuke leaped forward with a punch to the face, not even raising his weapon to defend himself, instead he let Sanosuke’s punch hit him and knock him stumbling across the yard until he regained his balance. 

Sanosuke let a cocky little smile cross his face, _hope I didn’t break your face too hard._   He was about to start forward to continue the fight when Goro looked up with an evil smirk on his face.  Sanosuke’s eyes widened in shock, realizing his attack had no effect.  _Who the hell is this guy?_

“Your punch lives up to its reputation,” Goro smirked as he took a long fighting stance, finally raising his sword.  He held it in his left hand, stretching his right hand along the length of the blade.  “But only in this weak age known as the Meiji.  If you had been in Kyoto in the midst of the bloodiest revolution the world has seen you would know how insignificant your attacks are.”  He suddenly leaped forward and Sanosuke froze in a moment at the speed at which the man moved, having just enough presence of mind to twist slightly away from the attack.  _He’s as fast as Kenshin,_ was his last thought before the sword stabbed him in the shoulder.  But even so, Goro didn’t stop his charge, instead pushing Sanosuke backwards and they crashed through the dojo’s doors and into one of the walls of the dojo.  As they hit the wall Sanosuke grabbed the sword, wrapping his hand around the blade to prevent Goro from withdrawing his weapon and he glared at the man, panting from the pain as he felt the warm blood run down his arm.

Goro just twisted his head a little at Sanosuke’s holding his blade before he then jerked the sword sideways, attempting to turn the thrust into a slash to free it from Sanosuke.  Sanosuke cried out in pain, moving with the blade to prevent it from cutting any deeper.  Between Goro’s strength and Sanosuke determination to hold on to the blade, the blade weakened and broke, but not before it cut a long stripe into the dojo’s wall.  Sanosuke stumbled back, lost his balance, and collapsed into a heap on the floor.  Meanwhile, Goro raised his broken blade, looking at it with distain. 

“What a nuisance, cane swords are easy to conceal but they are as flimsies as toys.  But I guess the only good sword is a true katana.”  He remarked in reflection before he turned on his heel, about to walk out of the dojo, when he sensed Sanosuke standing up behind him, he turned his head to see Sanosuke pull himself off the floor, one hand on his wounded shoulder where the tip of the blade was still impaled.

“Hold it right there narrow eyes,” he yelled in challenge.  “I’m not done yet!”  He seemed oblivious to the blood dripping on the floor from his wound.

Goro’s eyes took in his condition with one look, “you are resilient but it would be better for you to stay down,” he advised.  “Although the wound I gave you isn’t fatal, it is deep.”

“Shut up, I may be hurt but your sword is broken and I’m still ready to go!” Sanosuke yelled as he leaped forward to punch with his uninjured arm.

Goro raised one arm to block Sanosuke’s punch as he stepped forward, reaching his hand out to the broken shaft of the cane sword in Sanosuke’s arm and punched it in deeper.  Sanosuke stiffed from the pain.  “Time to sleep,” he told Sanosuke as he grabbed Sanosuke’s face with the arm he used to block and then rammed Sanosuke’s head into the floor of the dojo with a crack. 

***

 “When I left my Master in the fall of after my fourteenth birthday I thought I was a man ready to take on the responsibilities of a man but in many ways I was still a boy,” Kenshin began.  “My leaving Master was not, pretty.  He warned me of what would happen, what they would ask me to do, to become nothing more than a killer but I refused to listen to him, convince that I knew better.”  Kenshin shook his head a little at his own foolishness.  “I believed that as long as one’s intentions are pure enough that even the most horrendous of crimes are not the sins that they are.  So when I first met Katsura-sensei, you would know him now as Lord Kido, and he asked me to work for him in the capacity of a Hitokiri, I deluded myself, thinking that as long as I killed for the new age of peace that it was not truly a crime.”

“That might be why the first man I killed had no effect on me.”  Kenshin continues.  “I remember how shocked I felt about it after the deed was done, not for what I had done, but for the fact that I felt no different than before.  I always assumed that taking a life would have some effect the first time but it didn’t.  In fact, it would be months before the taking of life would began to weight on my conscience.”

Kaoru leaned in a little more, making sure to catch every word Kenshin spoke, she didn’t want to miss a thing, knowing that the man speaking to her now was the real Kenshin, no false smiles, and not the mask of the Hitokiri, but the man he truly was beneath all the lies and deceptions. 

“It was late fall, the trees were lose their leaves, their leaves were covering everything,” Kenshin closed his eyes for a moment, remembering the night, the street, the quiet beauty and stillness of the night he had disrupted.  “I had orders to kill a follower of the Shogun from Edo and his bodyguards.  I was under strict orders to let none who had seen me kill live for fear that by following me they would then be lead to the one’s I served.  So I simply killed everyone, in just a few heartbeats they were all down.  All but one, a young samurai about my own age then.  I had already fatally wounded him but he somehow found the will to stand and attack again.  He was not skilled with the blade but no matter how I tried to take him down he kept attacking until with one strike he gave me this scar.”  Kenshin reached up and traced the line that ran parallel to his jaw line.

“I had never been wounded in battle before, and when I turned to face him again he could no longer raise, but he refused to die despite his wounds.  Instead, he was calling out, repeating over and over that he could not die because someone precious was waiting for him and he promised to return to them with flowers.  I’m not sure if when I killed him then if it was because they told me I had to kill all who saw me, or out of mercy for his injuries, or because he wounded me.  Even now I am not sure why I did it.  But his death affected me in a way I cannot fully describe, even when his screams were silenced I could still him crying to the one he loved.”

“From that moment on, even time I shut my eyes I saw his face.  When all was silent I could still hear his voice.  I never went back to any of the scenes where I had murdered except for his, the next morning in the rain I returned as they were removing the bodies.  I’m not sure what truly brought me there but I saw what the man had refused to die for.  It was a young woman, I never saw her face in the rain, but I saw her cry over his body, and her weeping would later blend with his own screams into a sound that haunted me day and night.  From that moment on I questioned the morality of what I was doing, questioned myself.  But I continued to kill, mostly because I knew of no other way, but when I was offered to take an active role in the politics of the revolution I refused.  Before I would have jumped at the chance, but then all I knew was the blood on my hands and I felt that I would never be worthy to lead others with such crimes on my soul.”

“It was in the spring of the next year when the attacks on my life began.  Unbeknownst to us then there was a traitor in our midst, I had not truly trusted any before and trusted them less after that affair began.  One night after I had gotten a drink, I was returning back to the inn where rooms were kept for us when I was attacked by a shinobi.  It was dark and raining, I will always remember the rain, for after I killed the shinobi I looked up to see a beautiful young woman.  Her face and clothing had been splattered in the man’s blood.  She just stared at the blood on her hand in surprise.  For a moment I almost leapt forward to kill her, knowing what would happen if she were to give my description to the authorities.  But I hesitated and in that moment of hesitation she pointed a finger at me and told me that it was my fault, that I made the rain bleed before she passed out.”

 “I later learned that she had too much to drink that night and between that and all the blood she had fainted.  I didn’t know what to do about her, letting her live was a liability, but I also couldn’t bring myself to kill her, an innocent.  So I took her back to the inn where I stayed and practically begged the lady of the inn to let her stay for the night.  When I woke later I learned that her name was Tomoe and that the lady of the inn and given her a job there since she demonstrated herself to be a ready and willing helper.”

“When Katsura-sensei learned of her existence he had simply let her stay while a thorough investigation was made into her past to be sure that she was not a spy of some kind.  Of course, nothing was truly known of her history then so she was never forced to leave and was allowed to stay.  Though if we had known the truth about her and why she continued to stay then she would have been killed then, to protect me and everyone else in our fraction.”

“Well fancy meeting you two here!”

Kaoru and Kenshin both turned in shock to see Megumi behind them, seemingly unaware of what she had intruded on. 

“Megumi!” Kaoru shrieked, “what are you doing here?”  _And why did you have to butt in right when Kenshin was finally opening up about himself to me?_ She fumed, feeling a surge of anger at the interruption. 

“Why do you look so surprised, I believe this is a public street after all?” Megumi laughed, seemingly unaware of what she had interrupted.  She sobered as she continued, ignoring Kaoru’s scrawl and Kenshin’s faraway expression.  “The truth is after I finished up work I decided that I wanted to go and see Ken-san, so I thought I would wander over to his house and spend some time with him.”  She finished a little dreamily, just to annoy Kaoru.

“It’s _my_ house,” Kaoru snapped in reply. Megumi just laughed in response.

“Ken-san you don’t mind if I come to visit do you?” she asked Kenshin

“Umm,” Kenshin barely even glanced in her direction.  “No.”

Megumi sobered, finally paying attention to Kenshin’s mood, she stepped towards him, studying his downcast face carefully.  “You don’t seem like yourself today, if you don’t mind, may I give you an examination?”  She asked.

_Over my dead body,_ Kaoru swore in response, her fists clenching at the way Megumi shamelessly flirted with Kenshin.

“I’m fine, you don’t have to worry about this one,” Kenshin assured her, forcing a smile on his face that fooled no one.

“Are you sure?” Megumi questioned.

“Of course he is,” Kaoru defended, stepping forward and taking Kenshin’s hand in hers.  _Two can play at this game_ , she thought fiercely.

“Hey guys!”

Everyone’s head swirled around as Yahiko came running up panting.  “I’ve been looking everywhere for you,” he gasped his eyes turned to Megumi.  “Come on, he needs you!” he reached forward and grabbed Megumi’s hand, dragging her forward.

“Who needs what?” Megumi demanded as Yahiko forced her to have to run to keep up with him as he pulled her on.

“Yahiko, what’s the matter?” Kaoru asked in alarm as she took off running behind them with Kenshin on her heels.  She really didn’t like the look of panic on the boy’s face. 

They all went racing into the dojo complex, Yahiko continued to pull Megumi in through the wrecked door to the dojo but Kaoru and Kenshin hesitated for a moment at the sight and what was beyond.

Kenshin snapped to attention, _the smell of blood,_ he looked into the dark dojo to see a pool of blood and a familiar figure crumpled onto the floor of the dojo.

“Sano!” he cried started forward, Kaoru was right beside him but while Kaoru continued to rush forward to help Megumi in treating Sanosuke’s injuries, he hesitated when he saw what had also been left in the dojo.  He took a couple of steps towards the items, his heart pounding in his chest as he recognized the familiar items.  There was a medicine chest with a circle and two lines making a roof above it, a broken cane sword, and a deep gash cut into the wall of the dojo.  _Could they still be seeking my head, even after all this time?_


	19. A Wolf’s Treachery

**Chapter 18**

**A Wolf’s Treachery**

Sayri smiled a little over her bowel of rice at the simple sight of her husband being present for dinner.  It had been a long time since he had been able to spend any real time at home, let alone with his family.  One glance at their children’s faces showed that they were also pleased to have their father present.  Ever since the conclusion of the debates of Korea, which the press was now calling the Seikanron Debate, Ashikaga had been spending more time at home.  Sayri hoped that this meant that many of the things which concern her husband had passed.

“I need to speak with your master at once!” a strong male voice commanded.  Everyone looked up from dinner as they heard the servant’s feeble response.

Ashikaga’s eyebrows furrowed slightly when he recognized the voice that demanded him, _what does Kido want with me at this hour?_  

The servant respectfully showed Kido into the room where they were eating and everyone turned from their places at the table to greet the newcomer.

Kido glanced around realizing that he was interrupting a family meal.  He bowed slightly to them and they also bowed back respectfully.  “My apologies for disturbing you but I need to speak with Ashikaga at once.”

Sayri turned to her children, “come on, let’s let Kido-dono speak with your father in private,” she started ushering her children up from their places at the table.

“Leave them Sayri,” Ashikaga stopped her.  “Let the children finish eating, I will leave.”

Sayri sat back down at the table, her eyes never leaving her husband as he left the room with Kido.  She had a sinking feeling that her previous feelings that the worst was over had only been a false glimmer of sunshine on a stormy day. 

“I hope you have a good reason for brothering my family Kido-san,” Ashikaga asked, letting his anger at having Kido intruded into his home be known once they were alone in another room. 

“And I hope you have an equally good reason for attempting to involve Himura-san into current affairs,” Kido replied in challenge, his eyes flashing.  Ashikaga started a little and Kido had the confirmation that he needed.  “Did you think that I wouldn’t find out?  I know that all of you have decided to approach him and ask for his help after I specifically told you not to.  What gives you the right?”

“That last time I check Kido-san,” Ashikaga said stepping forward.  “He left your service after Tobi-Fushimi and became a rurouni.  Therefore, he is no longer your man to give orders to but is free to make his own decisions.  And if he chooses to help us than that is his right.”

Kido shook his head, “you do not know what you are doing Ashikaga, you do not what you are playing with or what you are asking of him.  I tell you, no good will come of this.”

“And what good will come of leaving the country at the hands of _him_?” Ashikaga asked with a hiss, careful to avoid saying names, even in the safety of his own home.

Kido’s jaw tightened.  “Do what you need to, but don’t involve him in it.”  He spun on his heel to walk out.

“I will do what I need to, _anything_ that I need to in order to protect this nation for the monster you created and that Saigo let live.”

***

In a part of town filled with restaurants and inns, and the streets were filled with people coming and going and were always well lit, a group of men were gathered in a private second story room of a restaurant.  Two of the men were seated on cushions on the floor facing each other, one wearing a well-made European style suit while the other was dressed simply in dark trousers and a white button up shirt with a bundled of neatly folded clothes beside him and a katana.  Meanwhile a third man lurked behind an elaborately decorated set of screens.

 “Why don’t we start off with a toast Fuijta-kun, or should I call you Saito-kun now?” The man dressed in the European suit asked as he lifted a bottle of saki and shook it.

“Call me whatever you like, as for the saki, I’d rather not,” Saito responded pleasantly raising his hand as he politely declined the offered drink.  Instead he surveyed the man before him with interest and was also keeping careful track of the man lurking behind the screen.  _So this is the man who was Kurogasa’s employer, the Secretary of the Senate, Shibumi.  And judging from the fact that he brought another of his henchmen with him they do not fully trust me, but then neither does Ashikaga,_ he thought with a mental smirk.  _And they are all wise not to trust me.  None of these so called ‘Imperialists’ could understand my_ true _motivations._

Shibumi set the bottle down, a surprised look on his face.  “Not a drinking man?  I find that surprising.” He remarked. 

“That has nothing to do with it,” Saito explained, never losing his pleasant expression.  “It’s simply due to a bad habit of mine.”

“Habit?”  Shibumi quirked an eyebrow at him.

“Yes when I drink, I tend to want to kill people and since the Meiji era I’ve been trying to cut back.  I don’t want to draw to much attention to myself.” 

“That is truly reassuring,” Shibumi laughed.  “I knew I had found the right man for the job!” 

“Thank you,” Saito inclined his head slightly towards his new master.

“But enough small talk, the real reason I asked you here, I have learned the location of the Battosai…” Shibumi started.

“Living in Tokyo at a place called the Kamiya Dojo right?” Saito interrupted, Shibumi looked startled.  “I stopped by this afternoon,” Saito explained. 

“Oh.”  _He didn’t waste any time after my contact told him what his first assignment was does he?_   Shibumi wondered.  _But how did he find the Battosai’s location so quickly?  It took Yamagata years to learn of his locations, and my own spies’ months after that to get the information from the men Yamagata set to keep an eye on him._

“Unfortunately, the Battosai was not home,” Saito continued. 

“You certainly work quickly.  Honestly, I was surprised that you, a former member of the Shinsengumi, accepted my invitation.  But you truly are the man I can rely on to get this job done.”

Saito sipped a little from a cup of tea before him, he kept his eyes down as he addressed Shibumi.  “And I was also surprised to learn about you, the mastermind of the Kurogasa incident.  To think the one controlling Jin-e Udo was the Secretary to the Senate member.  It was a bit of a shock,” he confessed.

Shibumi gave him a wicked grin, “well let’s just say that even the Meiji government has its internal problems.”

“I don’t doubt it,” he remarked.  “But as the side who lost the revolution it is nothing I need concern myself with.  I am satisfied with living the rest of my life in peace with the occasional amusement every now and then.  Killing people is what I’m good at so assassination is the best side business I could ask for.”  His face lost its pleasant expression and instead turned serious at his next thought.  “And if that isn’t enough, my first assignment is murdering my arch nemesis.  But there is one thing I don’t understand.  Why go after him now when’s he is just a rurouni?  Isn’t that a waste of resources?” 

“Watch it,” came a growl from behind the screen.

“All you have to do is keep your head down, carry out the missions, don’t ask any questions and you will get your pay,” Shibumi warned him.

Saito bowed low, putting his down to the floor, “I apologize, I will be more discreet from now on,” he assured them. 

“It’s good that you understand,” Shibumi grinned.

 _The Shinsengumi must be very proud of you now,_ the man behind the screen thought in amusement about seeing this former Captain of the Shinsengumi scrap and bow before a man he would have killed without hesitation five years before. 

Shibumi clapped his hands together and Saito sat back up, the pleasant expression back on his face.  “Now, now, that’s enough business, why don’t we just relax and spend the rest of the night enjoying ourselves?” Shibumi offered. 

“I appreciate the offer,” Saito began as he reached for the jacket and hat beside him and started pulling the jacket back on and fastening it.  “But if I don’t get back to my real job soon, people will be suspicious.”  He stood up, put his hat back on, and fastened his katana to his side.  “If you’ll excuse me, I’ll be off now.”

Shibumi inclined his head and Saito left the room.  Shibumi got up and went to the window and watched as Saito stepped out into the street, not even attaching a bit of attention into his uniform of a police officer, despite the fact that he carried a katana when the most the police were allowed to carry was sabers, and then only to a select few. 

“Hajime Saito the former leader of the Shinsengumi Squad Three has changed his name to Goro Fuijita and is now an assistant police inspector.  Some people say that he was even better than Soshi Okita the greatest of the Shinsengumi.  Even Jin-e couldn’t defeat the Battosai but perhaps this man can.” Shibumi mused as Saito disappeared from view.

“I really don’t like that guy,” the man from behind the screen stepped out reveling a face that had been disfigured in war and was covered in scars.  “I don’t buy the bow and scrape act.  Besides he works for the police.”

“Don’t be such a cynic Akamatsu,” Shibumi advised.  “He’s a comrade in Jin-e’s cause so make your peace with him.” 

Akamatsu snarled a little but inclined his head towards his master.  Shibumi barely noticed, he was too intent in his own thoughts.  _When I was given the orders to assassinate the Battosai before they can request his aid in their cause I was lost._ _But if this goes well I can finally say goodbye to this servile job and all its politics.  Amusingly enough the man who can make that happen is the same former Shinsengumi member who used to threaten my life every day.  The world really is a different place now.  The Shinsengumi were once known as the Wolves of Mibu, but now there are nothing more than lap dogs with no fangs._

_***_

It was a cool night, the moon shone brightly, hidden only now and then by a wisp of a cloud.  In the Kamiya dojo however, things were far from peaceful. 

“I need more hot water, and bandages.”  Megumi ordered. 

“I’ll get them,” Yahiko chimed in as he went running from the room.  Megumi strained her eyes, trying to see the wound better, her hands covered in blood as she tried to treat the wound. 

“I need more light,” she snapped. 

“Is this better?” Kaoru asked as she grabbed another lantern and lit it, trying to position it in the room to give Megumi the maximum amount of light on Sanosuke’s wound.

Megumi’s face wrinkled, “it’s still not enough, he is bleeding internally and I can’t find it.  I don’t care if you burn down the house to do it, but I need more light!”

By the time that Yahiko returned with freshly boiled water and more bandages Kaoru had every candle and lantern she could find lit and it was as bright as day in the room. 

As Megumi continued to give orders to Kaoru and Yahiko there was one person who was notably absent from the room.  While Kaoru and Yahiko saw that Megumi had what she needed to treat Sanosuke, Kenshin remained in the dojo and by the light of a single candle he studied the items that had been left by Sanosuke’s attacker. 

Kenshin twisted the hilt of the cane sword in his hand, matching it with the tip of the sword covered in blood that had been left in Sanosuke’s wound.  He carefully set the items down as he walked to the wall where a long and deep gash had been left in it.  He ran his fingers along that line, feeling the smoothness with which the blade had cut through the wall and the night wind blow through the crack.  He turned and held the candle up to better see the medicine chest that had been left behind and the symbol painted on it. 

Kenshin had been turning the facts over and over in his mind but the more he thought about the more he came back to the same conclusion. 

 _Could it really have been him?_   Kenshin wondered as he sat down in the middle of the dojo floor, facing the medicine chest and where he could see the gash in the wall.  He propped his sword against his shoulder as he continued to analyze the situation, hoping that he would see something that he missed that would point to another solution.  _The medicine chest with the circle and umbrella was used by the spies of the Shinsengumi, and the parallel sword mark is a move that was used only by the Shinsengumi, the Hirazuki.  And that cut in the wall could only have come from the left handed hirazuki, the flat thrust.  And Sanosuke’s wound and that mark could only be from the hirazuki that only one mastered, the gatosu.  The leader of the third Squad of the Shinsengumi, Hajime Saito._   Kenshin’s eyes narrowed _Has he come back to settle the score between us?  Or does he have a different objective?_  

At that thought, Kenshin stood up, and drew his sword as he continued to stare at the mark in the wall.  He charged to the wall and slashed at the wall with all his strength.    His eyes narrowed even more as he jerked the sakabato out from where it had gotten stuck in the wall, he didn’t even need to look at the other mark to see the obvious difference between them.  While his was only a narrow slash that only measured a few inches at best, the mark left by the imposter had cut all the way through the wall and measured almost two feet in length. 

  _His sword skills have not diminished._ Kenshin thought in disgust.  _He is still as good as when he was called the Wolf of Mibu, but me with the sakabato and my oath not to kill, will I be able to fend him off?_

He suddenly gulped as he realized what he had just done to the wall of Kaoru’s dojo.  He glanced around to make sure that he was alone and that no one had seen him.  He quickly rubbed a hand over it in a futile attempt to lessen the appearance of the mark, but of course it made no difference.  _Oh no, Kaoru-dono will be furious,_ he thought in worry as he imagined Kaoru’s reaction to finding out that he had furthered damaged her dojo.  _Then again…._   Kenshin looked around again to assure that he was alone.  _If I don’t say anything then they will probably think it was from earlier and was just overlooked with Sanosuke.  Yeah, that could work._

_***_

Megumi took down her hair from the white cloth that she had bound it up in while she had been treating Sanosuke with a sigh of relief.  The morning sun was starting to lighten the sky and she could tell from the equally exhausted expressions on Kaoru and Yahiko’s faces that they were just as tired as she was.

“Will he be okay?” Yahiko asked in worry as he looked at Sanosuke.  Now that the wound was bandaged up it didn’t seem too bad, but Yahiko thought Sanosuke looked awfully pale. 

“I think the worst is over, he’ll make it but he’s going to stay put for a while.”  Megumi answered. 

“Will he wake up soon?” Kaoru asked in concern.

“He should,” Megumi smiled a little at the concern on Yahiko and Kaoru’s faces.  “Don’t worry about him too much, he’s as tough as a cockroach.  You hear that moron?”  She asked, addressing the unconscious Sanosuke.  “However, if you don’t wake up soon we’re shopping for a coffin,” she concluded thumping Sanosuke on the head.

 _I can’t believe she’s a doctor,_ Kaoru thought in shock.  _She really needs to work on that bedside manner of hers._   “You must be exhausted Megumi, here let me get you something to eat and make a bed up for you,” Kaoru offered, thinking that Sanosuke might recover quicker if the person looking after him wasn’t adding to his injuries. 

“Thank you, but I’ll keep looking after him for a bit longer,” Megumi declined.  “But what about Ken-san?”

“Oh yeah we should tell Kenshin the news,” Yahiko exclaimed as he stood up.

“Hold on, just leave Kenshin alone for now,” Kaoru stopped the boy.  “I looked in on him a while ago and I think it’s better if we leave him for the moment.”

Yahiko sat back down and his voice dropped as his face turned deathly serious.  “From the way Kenshin’s been looking at that stuff in the dojo, do you think he knows who attacked Sanosuke?  And maybe why?”

Kaoru’s face became troubled, “maybe.”

“That’s enough you two,” Megumi broke up the dark musings of the other’s.  “You’re both tired and need some rest.  Go get some sleep, I’ll wake you up in a few hours Kaoru to look after Sanosuke.  We can deal with this attacker once Sanosuke is back on his feet, and we can’t get him there if we’re all dead from fatigue.”

Kaoru gave her a little smile, “you’re right.  Come on Yahiko, let’s get some rest.”

Megumi waited until she and left Yahiko left before she turned back to Sanosuke.  _You stupid idiot, you die on us now and I’ll spit on your grave every day for the rest of my life,_ she swore.

***

In a little teashop a police officer sat down to enjoy a quiet lunch.  Anyone looking at him would find nothing amiss, there was nothing in his look or manner to indicate that he was dangerous in anyway.  It was an act that he had perfected and it hide his inner thoughts perfectly.  Though his face was pleasant as he waited for his lunch to be brought out his thoughts were a different matter as he reflected on the events of the afternoon before.  _These peaceful days of the Meiji have become turbulent like the day’s long past.  And now child’s talk about a wanderer who won’t kill is meaningless, there are two paths you can take, return to your former self or death.  Those are your only choices Battosai._

_***_

The clock ticked away and Kaoru rinsed out the cloth that had been on Sanosuke’s forehead to help bring down the slight fever he had during the night.  She glanced up as Megumi slid the door open.  “How’s the patient?” Megumi asked.  “Any change?”

“I think his fever might have gone down,” Kaoru answered hopefully. 

Megumi laid her hand of his forehead to gage for herself, “I’d say it’s almost gone,” she glanced up to see Yahiko hovering in the doorway. “Yahiko, could you please change the water for us?” Megumi asked as she picked up the small tub of water and handed it out to the boy.

“Oh sure,” Yahiko offered, leaping forward to take the tub away before he scrambled outside to the well.

“I’ll get some lunch started for us,” Kaoru proposed as she stood up, “I think we could all use a hot meal about now.”

 _Well at least the girl can manage hot food, but taste is another matter,_ Megumi sighed.  She turned back to her patient who continued to sleep.  “Are you going to wake up anytime soon?  You’ve had your rest.” Megumi asked in slight annoyance but Sanosuke continued to sleep.  She flicked him in the forehead to no effect.  With a sigh, Megumi sat back, paying careful attention to his breathing while she also took his pulse, everything seemed normal but Sanosuke wouldn’t wake up no matter what she tried.  _I did manage to fix all the bleeding right?_   She lifted the bandages to take a closer look at the wound, but again she couldn’t see anything wrong.  _Why won’t you wake up?_

Meanwhile, outside, Yahiko reached the well where Kenshin was busy washing the blood out of the discarded bandages from the night before.  He didn’t even look up from his work as Yahiko came up to the well and tossed out the water from his tub onto the ground.

“Can you tell this one what Sanosuke’s condition is now Yahiko?” Kenshin asked softly, still not looking up from his work.

Yahiko glanced to Kenshin, “well his fever has gone down, Megumi says he’ll be fine so long as he gets some rest,” Yahiko turned back to the well and started hauling up some water.

“It is good that the worst didn’t happen, that it is,” Kenshin comment mildly, no change of expression as though he were merely commenting on the weather and not on his best friend’s life that had hung in the balance.  _Of course, if he had wanted him dead than why did he not make sure the job was done?  What is his motives?_

“Yeah I guess,” Yahiko answered.  He bit his lip in worry, feeling a fear of the unknown terrors attacking his world as he poured the water he had drawn up into the tub.  “But I was thinking Kenshin, there aren’t many people around who could beat up Sano that badly, what kind of guy could do that?  Do you know?”  Yahiko turned hopefully to Kenshin hoping that he would at least look at him.  But Kenshin continued in his work without the slightest change to show that he had heard the boy.  Yahiko then turned and walked away, but he kept one eye on Kenshin.  His worry growing at Kenshin’s silence.  _It’s not like Kenshin just stay quiet like this.  Normally he would be assuring all of us not to worry about things.  What does he know that he’s not saying?_

Kenshin wished he could have assured Yahiko that things would be all right.  He wished that he could deluded himself, at least partially that things truly would work out for the best but he couldn’t.  He felt as though he had been allowed to stand still in this quiet place of the Kamiya dojo while the world continued to move around him.  But now he felt as through those currents were now starting to pull him forward again and all he wanted was to resist and stay where he was happy.  _But that may not be permitted,_ Kenshin thought blackly.  _Because if he was only planning on settling the score with me he should have faced me directly, there had to be a better way than this.  It is unlike him to involve others in such an affair, so why is he now?_

_***_

Saito smiled pleasantly as the elderly woman put down his lunch, “here you go, sorry to keep you waiting sir,” she apologized. 

“Not a problem, thank you very much,” he replied pleasantly as he reached into the small vase that contained chopsticks for the customers who did not bring theirs with them as an unwelcome guest sat down at his table in a huff, the same man who had been hiding behind the screen the night before that Saito had met once briefly, Akamutsu.  Saito’s face didn’t change for a moment as he broke his chopsticks into two and picked up his bowel.

Akamutsu’s face wrinkled up when he saw Saito’s lunch.  “A plain bowel of hot soba, that’s a pretty miserable lunch, wouldn’t you agree Saito-san?”

“It’s economical,” Saito replied shortly.

Akamutsu snorted.  “That it is.”

“And I like plain soba,” Saito continued. “And if you would please at the moment my name is Fuijita.  I believe yours was Akamutsu-san, was there something that you want from me?”

Akamutsu wanted nothing more than to wipe Saito’s fake smile off his face.  “I don’t want anything from you,” he spat while Saito ate his lunch in unconcern.  “And I don’t like your attitude.  I was the one who was originally supposed to handle this job and kill Battosai.  But just because you were a member of the Shinsengumi during the revolution, Shibumi decided to give it to you, the new guy.  And I don’t like that one bit.  Look if you’re going to fight him then hurry up and fight him, that way you can get yourself killed faster.  But if you keep moving at this snail’s pace than someone might backstab you.” 

Saito laughed as he drank the broth at the bottom of the bowl.  Akamutsu slammed table with one fist in anger that Saito would mock him.  “What you do you think is so funny?” he demanded.

“Oh excuse me, but I understand what you’re going though.” Saito set his bowel down and smiled pleasantly at his guest.  “Your anger is quite understandable Akamutsu-san.  Well if that’s the case then how bout we make this a cooperative effort?  What do you say?”

Akamutsu’s looked at Saito in distrust.  “What was that?  If you think I world work with someone like you then you’re out of your mind Fuijita-san.  “

“The other day when I went to visit the Battosai I left him a few souvenirs with my gift.”  Saito explained.    “Naturally the Battosai must know that I’m involved in this but he won’t be able to determine anything else with only the items I left him.  So if I were to send him an invitation there isn’t any way he could refuse, and then you can finish him off.”

“So you’ll be the bait that lures him to me,” Akamutsu asked for clarification.  “Why would you do that?  Isn’t the Battosai is supposed to be your nemesis?  So why would you hand him over to me just like that?”

“While I did say that in front of Shibumi-san, I honestly don’t care about that as much now.”  Saito answered.  “As I said before, I’m satisfied to live my life peaceful, with the occasional amusement.  And instead of risking my life for a large sum of money, I’d rather be safe and settle for a smaller amount that is guaranteed.  That is exactly the kind of man that Goro Fujita is.”

Akamutsu laughed a little, he stood up.  “I still don’t like you, but I do like that story, it’s a deal.”  He turned to leave but before he did he delivered one final message to Saito.  “But there’s one thing I want you to try and remember.  I’m the best assassin in this outfit!”

Saito waited until Akamutsu left the tea shop before his dropped his fake smile.  _And you should be fortunate that it is not my intention to be the top frog in your miserable well,_ he thought in response to Akamutsu’s last comment.  _After all such petty struggles of a group I don’t plan on staying with for long hold no meaning for me.  If he wants to fight the Battosai than let him.  After all the Battosai can finish him off easily and this way that cockroach won’t get into the way of my real plans for the Battosai._

_***_

Kenshin walked out of the house to take care of a few chores outside, his eyes narrowed when he saw something white stuck in the side gate of the dojo.  He walked up and pulled out the folded paper that had been stuck between the gate’s door and the frame.  He opened up the gate and glanced both ways down the street but there was no one in sight.  He glanced back down to the paper in his hand.  _I only went inside for a few moments, they must have been watching._   He really didn’t like the implications of that, he opened up the letter and it confirmed his worst suspicions when he saw the signature.  _So I was right, this was his work._   Kenshin thought in fury.  _Hajime Saito is the one behind all of this but why?_   Kenshin wondered.  The letter offered no answer either.  It was simply a challenge and invitation of a meeting place and time. 

Kenshin refolded the letter and clenched it in his hand, _all right Saito, if you won’t say in your letter your reason’s then I will just have to ask you in person._  

“Hey Kenshin,” Yahiko called as he stuck his head out of the house waving a tub.  His voice stopped Kenshin right as he was about to step out.  “Kaoru wants you to run into town and buy some tofu,” Yahiko informed him as he ran up to Kenshin and held out the tub.

Kenshin smiled at the boy, not wanting to betray the seriousness of what he was about to do, he tucked the letter into his sleeve.  “I’m sorry Yahiko, but I have a small errand to run right now, that I do.  I may be late getting back home so please make sure to lock up.”

Stunned that Kenshin would dare to disobey a direct command from Kaoru, Yahiko watched Kenshin leave without trying to stop him.  _What is up with that?_   He wondered.  _First Sano gets attacked and left for dead and then Kenshin starts running off for secret errands and not following Kaoru’s orders._ Yahiko gasped as he glanced down at the empty tub.  “Oh man this means I have to go and get the tofu,” he wailed. 

***

Kenshin stood in the middle of the deserted field filled with rocks that the letter had led him too.  He looked around but there was no one in sight.  However, he was sure that there was someone lurking nearby, disgusted at the game and ready to settle the matter, whatever it was, as quickly as possible he lifted his head and called out in a loud voice.  “Saito, I came out here like you asked in the letter, why don’t you stop this charade and show yourself?”  he challenged.

Kenshin heard a clatter of chains behind him.  He took a quick step to the right, without turning, to dodge the weighted chain that struck from behind and crashed into a boulder, fracturing the rock with impressive force.  Kenshin knew that if the chain had hit him it would have broken his spin and killed him.

“I guess I should have expected nothing less from the Battosai,” a gruff voice laughed from behind Kenshin.  “You dodged my chains like they were nothing.”

“Who are you?” Kenshin demanded, annoyed at the interruption.  He turned to look over his shoulder to see a horribly scared man who’s gruff voice perfectly matched both his face and a clothing.   “Why are you here?”  _He looks like an underlining of some kind,_ Kenshin thought in disgust. 

“I’m Arito Akamatsu, the man who will end your life.” The man laughed as he twirled the chains again and threw them at Kenshin again who jumped out of the way to avoid it. 

 _Get in line,_ Kenshin thought in loathing.  _You think you’re the first one to seek my head?_

_***_

Kaoru was sweeping the dojo’s porch when Yahiko came trotting back in with the tofu in hand.  Kaoru quirked an eyebrow at the boy, _didn’t I tell him to get Kenshin to get the tofu?_   She wondered.  “Where is Kenshin?” she demanded as Yahiko walked up.

“He had some business so he sent me after the tofu,” Yahiko explained.

“Kenshin?  Had a bit of business?”  Kaoru asked in surprise.  

“Yeah and here is the tofu,” Yahiko held out the tub and Kaoru took it out of reflex.  “Kenshin also said he might be late getting back,” Yahiko added.

“I see,” Kaoru answered in a downtrodden voice.  _Where would he go at a time like this?_   She wondered.  “Did he say anything else to you?”  She asked hopefully.

“Nothing besides that,” Yahiko shrugged.

“That’s strange,” Kaoru mused, her face getting sorrowful.  _Kenshin where did you go?_

Yahiko’s lips pursed together when he saw the expression on Kaoru’s face.  _Oh no she’s acting like a girl again,_ he thought in worry.  _Better snap her out of it._   He brightened up and hit a fist into his other hand as if something had hit him.  “Oh yeah, I think he was reading a letter of something before he left,” he exclaimed. 

“A letter?”

Yahiko grinned as he thought of a way to twist what he had seen to get Kaoru to snap out of her mood.  “I know it’s got to be a woman!  I bet you it was a love letter, no wonder he couldn’t say where he was going, and why he left in such a hurry.  And why he might be late getting back,” Yahiko laughed.

Kaoru’s eyes went wide as the idea hit her full force.  Her body went numb, she didn’t even notice when the tofu slipped out of her hands, and Yahiko had to make a quick dive forward to catch it before it hit the ground. 

“Hey what do you think you’re doing dropping the tofu?  Its dinner after all.”  Yahiko scolded.  “Besides you ought to know that Kenshin wouldn’t do something like that, especially with Sano hurt badly and bedridden!”  Still no response from Kaoru whose eyes were unseeing.  “Are you listening to me ugly?”

“Yeah what was I thinking?”  Kaoru laughed nervously.  “I was actually worried for a moment but that’s was just silly of me, silly, silly, silly.”  Kaoru shook her head as she repeated, still laughing nervously.

Yahiko just made a face as he watched her, _girls,_ he swore.  It summed up everything for him.

Kaoru stopped her rant and they both looked up as the dojo gate opened and they saw a tall policeman with a pleasant smile on his face.  “Excuse me, I don’t mean to intrude.”  He greeted.  “But I came to see Kenshin Himura.”

“Huh?” Yahiko asked.  _What do the police want with Kenshin now?_   He wondered.

“How do you now Kenshin?” Kaoru demanded in slight mistrust as she stepped off the porch and towards the police officer who continued to stand at the gate. 

The officer took off his hat, “I’m sorry I didn’t introduce myself.” He apologized.  “My name is Fujita and I was only just assigned to this precinct.  I heard about Himura-san from the chief.”

“Oh so you’re one of the chief’s officers,” Yahiko answered the worry dropping from his face like rain.  _He must be one of the good guys,_ Yahiko thought.  _I mean if the Chief sent him._

Kaoru’s face likewise lighten at this news and she cheerful stepped up to the gate.  “I’m sorry but he’s not here, he had some business so he stepped out for a bit, can I help you?”  She asked politely.

“Yes,” Fujita answered, tucking his hat under his arm.  “I’m here because the police received an unconfirmed tip that someone is after Himura-san and they sent me here to pass this information on to Himura-san himself.  I’m sorry for imposing but would you mind terribly if I wait here for him?”

Kaoru’s eyes widened at the news that someone was after Kenshin, _were they the one’s to hurt Sanosuke?_   She wondered.  “Someone’s after Kenshin?”  She repeated in worry.  “Of course, of course you can wait here for him, I’m not sure when he’ll be back though.  He might be back late, if that’s all right?”

“That will be fine,” he assured her with a smile.  As he stepped inside the gate and closed it behind him at Kaoru’s urging.  _This is almost too easy,_ Saito thought.

“Would you like anything while you wait?” Kaoru asked.

He shook his head, “no thank you, will be all right if I just wait inside here for him?  I don’t want to be in your way.”  He gestured to the dojo.

Kaoru glanced at the dojo, “of course, please make yourself at home.  If you need anything just ask.”

“You’re very kind madam,” Saito beamed at her as he entered the dojo.  _This truly is too easy._


	20. A Wolf Without Mercy

**Chapter 19**

**A Wolf Without Mercy**

Senkaku smiled in satisfaction, everything had been going smoothly since he had taken over the village of Shingetsu in the name of Shishio. 

“Sir.”

Senkaku turned at this interruption to his thoughts to see one of his underlings.  “What is it?” he asked in annoyance.

“There has been some rumors floating around sir,” the man answered quickly. 

“What kind of rumors?”

“The report is that there may be a police agent in the village.”

“WHAT!” Sekaku roared, slamming his fist against the wall causing it to shudder from the force.  The man flinched a little in fear.  “You find out if there is an agent in the village, if there is you come right back here with that little bastard’s name.  That way we can kill him and his whole family as a lesson to the others.”

“Yes sir,” the man bowed before running out.

 _It never fails,_ Sekaku grumbled.  _I’d better make sure we find this agent before Lord Shishio comes or it will be my head if the rumor is true._

_***_

Kenshin dodged the chain with ease, his face still wrinkled in annoyance.  _I only came because Saito said he would be here and I could find out what this was all about.  But instead I find this moron.  Well maybe he has the answer to my question._ “I can understand you wanting to kill me and all,” Kenshin started as Akamutsu started swinging his chain again in an another attempt to hit Kenshin, keeping the end with the kama attached in his hand to defend against any attack Kenshin might launch.  “But I have no intention of dying when I don’t even know the reason for it.”  _And also really don’t have the time for this._   “So if you would please, what are your reasons for this?”

 “Reasons?” Akamutsu’s eyebrow quirked in amusement.  “You need a reason to kill?”

_They generally help._

Akamutsu lips quirked into a vicious smile.  “I’ll explain my reasons after you’re dead.”  He threw his chain again while Kenshin leapt away from it and it fractured yet another rock in the field.  Akamutsu growled a little in frustration that Kenshin could move faster than his chain could.  He jerked the chain back, leapt in the air towards Kenshin, and threw it again. 

Kenshin was done playing around.  This time when the chain came towards him he sidestepped only a fraction of inch out of the reach of the chain, just enough to avoid being hit as he drew his sword and then with the sword positioned downward and the chain between the sword and it’s sheath, he resheathed his sword with a snap, breaking the chain when it hit the maximum length, the whole process taking place in less than a heartbeat.  Then he turned with his sheathed sword in his hand and leapt forward towards Akamutsu who he hit in chest, causing him to double over from the blow and the end of the chain with the kama went flying up into the air. 

“Dammit!” Akumatsu swore, to himself with a cough, baking away from Kenshin a little. 

Kenshin glared down at Akamutsu, not even looking as he caught the kama in one hand when Akamutsu threw it in a last ditch chanced to kill Kenshin.  “Enough,” Kenshin told him in a fierce voice.  “You have no chance of winning, so talk.  Who are you exactly, and how are you connected with Saito?”

Akamutsu glared at him for an instant before his face shifted into hopelessness and he collapsed to his knees, putting his head to the ground in apology.  “Please don’t kill me, I’m sorry, it was wrong to do this, please forgive me.  I didn’t really want to do this, but Saito forced me, he threatened to kill me.  I had to do whatever he wanted,” Akamutsu sobbed.

 _Coward,_ Kenshin thought uncharitably.  S _ending someone like him here, what was Saito thinking?_   In disgust, Kenshin turned and started walking away tossing the kama away.  “Nothing you say can be believed.” He told him in a hard tone.  “Learn from this lesson though, get another career.”

“Yes sir,” Akamutsu sobbed right before his face shifted into a snarl and he lifted his head, his hands grasping the chains that he had previously hidden in the field under a thin layer of dirt.  “I’ll think about it after you’re dead!” he roared as he whipped the chains up from the ground and Kenshin turned in shock.

 _Hidden chains!_   Kenshin raised his right arm quickly as one chain whipped around his neck.  But he couldn’t even think of using the sword in his left hand as another chain wrapped itself around his hand and sword.  _Damn it!_ Kenshin swore, his right arm pinned against his neck to keep the chains from being able to choke him but that didn’t keep them from cutting into his flesh.  Akamutsu pulled at the chains, trying to draw Kenshin in closer but Kenshin dug his heels into the ground fighting against his strength with everything he had.

“Hah, if as a good decision, raising your right arm up to keep the chains from choking you.” Akamutsu barked.  “But what are you going to do, both are your arms are completely restrained!”  Kenshin glared at him, his mind frantically coming up with some kind of counter move.  “And with them you!”  Akamutsu roared as he jerked the chains, sweeping Kenshin completely off his feet, and threw him through the air into a rock.

Kenshin hit the rock hard, _I’m going to feel that in the morning,_ he though grimly. 

Akamutsu grinned to himself.    _This fight is as good as over now._   “I may be at a disadvantage because of your speed, but I’ll win against a puny thing like you in strength!”  And with that he jerked the chain again, sending Kenshin flying through the air once again. 

***

Megumi eyes widen at the news Kaoru deliver.  “There may be people after Ken-san?” she gasped. 

Kaoru nodded her head.  “And they’re probably the same ones who almost killed Sanosuke.”  Kaoru answered in a soft voice.  She wished she could quail the rising panic that she felt.  She closed her eyes for a moment against the feeling being caught in the current of some mighty river and try though she might she couldn’t stop it from sweeping her away. 

“If that’s true then they would have to be very dangerous,” Megumi answered.  “After all Sanosuke lives to fight, he’s not some pushover.  We need to be very careful, especially as they seem more than willing to attack the people around Kenshin when they can’t get to him directly.”

“And Kenshin’s gone now,” Kaoru mourned, her eyes dropping and she clenched her hands in her lap to keep them from shaking in fright.  _Kenshin where did you have to go in such a hurry?_

Megumi’s eyes shifted into sympathy, understanding Kaoru’s feelings perfectly, she felt much the same but was better at hiding it.  “There is no reason to worry about him being alone,” she told her practically.  “He’s not the least bit like this idiot who’s sleeping like a log.”  Megumi slapped Sanosuke’s head but it had no effect on him.  She shook her head and looked back to Kaoru.  “It’s best if we don’t panic and simply stay here at the dojo.  Besides we also have a member of the police here as well.”

“That’s true I guess,” Kaoru mused. She closed her eyes whispering a silent prayer.  _Please bring him home safely.  Please watch over Kenshin and bring him back home safe._

_***_

In the dojo Saito kneeled on the ground in front of the small alter in the front.  He studied the katana on display there with the accompany wakizashi that formed the daisho.  Next to them was a nameplate that years before had been proudly hung on the wall of the dojo, but now rested in the front as a tribute to the one’s name it bore.  _Koshijiro Kamiya,_ Saito read.  _It’s been a long time hasn’t it?_   Saito’s eyes flicked back to the katana on display, he could remember how its owner had wielded it in the defense of the Shogun and taken countless Imperialists lives with it.  Now it rested peacefully, the lock of hair peace tying it closed.  Saito understood well the significance of that as he knew whose lock it was.

 

_Saito walked into one of the side rooms of the Shinsengumi headquarters to find that Koshijiro had returned from his latest assignment.  He was washing the blood off of his hands in a basin of water._

_“I take it things went well?” Saito asked blandly._

_“The job is done if that’s what you mean,” Koshijiro responded indifferently.  Once he had finished scrubbing his hands clean he turned to Saito.  “Did you need something?”_

_“They are calling an emergency meeting, it seems the rebels are planning something around the Ikeduga Inn hurry up.”  Koshijiro nodded tossing the towel to the side prepared to follow Saito when Saito noticed something on Koshijiro’s sword.  “You missed some,” Saito pointed out._

_Koshijiro followed his gaze and saw that there was a speck of blood on the lock of hair tied to the tusba of his sword.  Koshijiro’s reaction to that speck of blood shocked Saito.  He seemed almost in a panic as he wet the towel and scrubbed the blood off the lock as though he was a man processed._

_“It’s barely a speck,” Saito pointed out with his usual calm voice._

_“On my daughter’s lock of hair,” finally satisfied that the speck had been removed and there was no longer a trace of blood left on the hair Koshijiro looked up, his face deathly serious.  He knew Saito’s manner well and realized that the unspoken question that hung between them at his actions.  “I may be here, killing to save my daughter.  But I refuse to let the blood of those I kill stain anything of her.”_

 

 _His daughter did mean a lot to him,_ Saito mused as he remembered some of the talks he had with Koshijiro.  _Not that such things matter now._   Saito picked his katana up from where he laid before him, opening the first part of the blade, the blade gleamed in the light and he was lost in his own dark musings for the reasons he had come.  _Soon even things such as peace and beauty will be just distant memories._

“Wow!” A boyish voice interrupted Saito’s thoughts.  “I thought all that the police could carry was sabers, but you’ve got a real katana!”

Saito snapped the katana closed, shifting his eyes to see the boy, _Yahiko¸_ he recalled standing in the open side door of the dojo, staring at him with boyish enthusiasm. 

Saito turned with a smile on his face towards the boy, falling back in to his role as the helpful police officer.  “Sabers are brittle,” he explained.  “I can’t rely on them so I was given special permission to carry this katana, to me these are the only real swords in the world.”

“So I guess you used to be a samurai before the Meiji?” Yahiko asked.  “I’m from a samurai clan too, Myojin.”

“Oh really?” Saito answered as though this was the first time he had heard such news despite the fact that he knew all about Yahiko’s past.  About how his father had fought for the shogun in the war but had been killed and his mother had lost everything with the Meiji Era and fell into prostitution to try and feed her son before she died.  And how Yahiko had then been forced into working for a yakuzua before he had been rescued by Kenshin.  “And now I’m sure you are studying to be a kenjutsu master,” he stated noticing the shinai that the boy was resting on his shoulder.

“Oh yeah,” Yahiko answered happily, stepping into the dojo sensing a willing ear in that friendly smile.  “I plan on being the greatest swordsman in Japan, second only to Kenshin.  You haven’t met him yet but he’s the greatest swordsman in all of Japan, heck probably in the whole world.”

Saito’s grin widen a little, “I’m sure he’s very skilled indeed.”

***

Akamutsu waited a couple of seconds after Kenshin hit the ground, looking for the slightest sign of movement.  He stepped a little closer, holding his chains at the ready to throw Kenshin again if he showed the slightest signs of life.  He saw a stream of blood trickle from the corner of Kenshin’s mouth, he tried to see Kenshin’s eyes but they were hidden behind his long bangs.  Akamutsu snorted in satisfaction once he was sure that Kenshin wasn’t breathing.  _He’s dead already.  Well he did last longer than most._

Laughing, Akamutsu walked over to Kenshin’s body and kicked him in the head.  “I may be a killer but I’m an honest one so I’ll answer your question.”  He told Kenshin’s lifeless body.    “Me and Saito are assassins working for the politicians, just like Jin-e was.  But to tell you the truth, we weren’t told why we were doing this.  The way I figure it, the politicians heard about you after the Kurogasa incident and they probably wanted to make sure that all that stuff they did in the revolution that you knew about won’t ever come out into the open.  Politicians are all two-faced breed, they’ll stab anyone in the back if they get half the chance.”

“Ahh,” a gasp escaped from Kenshin’s lips and Akamutsu jumped back in surprise.  “So Saito Hajime is an assassin like Jin-e Udo.” 

Akamutsu stared in shock as Kenshin got to his feet, not able to believe what he was seeing.  _I was sure that guy wasn’t breathing, how in the world….?_   _Was he really able to turn all those falls into break falls with his hands and arms bound like they are?_   Akamutsu wondered.

“It was rumored in the war that Saito would often turn his sword against the other Shinsengumi to keep them in line,” Kenshin continued, he spat out a mouthful of blood, he had bit his own tongue to help fool Akamutsu into thinking he was dead so that he would tell Kenshin wanted he wanted to know.  “So even in the Meiji Era he still plays at being the assassin.”

Akamutsu screamed in rage, frustrated that he had been tricked into thinking Kenshin was dead.  He jerked Kenshin off his feet and threw him straight into a boulder, intending to smash him against the rocks.  Kenshin however twisted his legs around and hit the rock feet first, Akamutsu’s eyes widened as Kenshin brought his bound hand holding his sword up to his mouth, he grabbed the hilt with his mouth his eyes burning with fire at what he had to do now.  Akamutsu’s eyes widen as he realized how mistaken his belief that Kenshin couldn’t draw his sword without his hands had been.  With all his strength Kenshin leapt towards Akamutsu. 

***

Kaoru paced near the front gate, making sure that she was still in range to shout for help from the police officer inside the dojo if needed.  Occasionally she would open the gate up and glance both ways down the street to see if Kenshin was there.  _Megumi said that we should just wait here for Kenshin,_ Kaoru told herself firmly, fighting the urge to go out looking for Kenshin.  _And she’s right.  Besides you did promise Kenshin that you would do your best to stay out of trouble.  He would want you to stay here where it is safe._   Since she couldn’t go after him, all she could do was pace by the gate as though that would bring him home faster.  She looked up to the setting sun, _he’s been gone for ages, where on earth could he be?_   She wondered for the thousandth time. 

She heard footsteps approaching and in a rush she threw open the gate and glanced outside, she breathed a sigh of relief, closing her eyes for a moment when she saw Kenshin.  “There you are,” she greeted.  She didn’t notice that when she closed her eyes Kenshin flicked his hands into his sleeve, trying to hide the marks where the chains had rubbed his skin raw.

“Kaoru-dono you have been waiting for this one?” he asked gently. 

“I was really worried about you,” Kaoru answered as she ran up and gave him a quick hug much to Kenshin’s surprise.

 _I wasn’t really gone that long,_ Kenshin thought.  _But I’m not complaining at the greeting._   “Did something happen while this one was gone?” he asked in curiosity.

Kaoru pulled back with a happy smile that faded in an instant as she took a closer look at Kenshin, she reached one hand up to Kenshin’s neck, “are those chain marks on your neck?” she asked, looking to Kenshin for some kind of response.

Kenshin gulped, _crap, I forgot about the marks on my neck!_   “Uhh, yes?”

Kaoru’s eyes widened and she took a step backwards.  She just stared at him for a moment before she held her hands up and shook her head.  “I don’t even want to know,” she declared. 

 _Good ‘cause I’d rather not explain_ , Kenshin thought with a sigh of relief.  “So did something happen while this one was gone?” he asked, hoping to keep the conversation moving away from the chain marks on his neck.  _Good thing Sano is still out, I’d rather not hear what comments he would make about this, especially if he knew they were on my wrists as well._

“Did something happen?” Kaoru repeated in exasperation in a tone that clearly spoke that a great deal had happened while Kenshin had been gone.  “Let’s just say that you won’t leave just like that for a while,” she told him in a rush, stepping forward and grabbing his arm and pulling him inside the complex and shutting and locking the gate behind them before she started pulling him towards the dojo.  “Someone’s after you Kenshin,” she finished. 

Kenshin stopped, not letting Kaoru lead him on.  Kaoru looked back to see what the matter was.  Kenshin lowered his head, his thoughts racing.  “Kaoru-dono where did you hear about that?” he asked.

“The police told me,” she replied matter-of-factly.   “The Chief sent one of his men over here to keep an eye on things, he’s in the dojo now.  He wanted to speak with you himself and he’s been waiting all afternoon for you to get back.”  Kenshin still hesitated, his mind still turning over the possible implications of this news.  Kaoru pulled Kenshin forward, leading him into the dojo.  “This man is Goro Fujita, an assistant inspector.”  She introduced as they stepped into the dojo where Yahiko was hanging up a lantern.

Kenshin felt his heart freeze at the familiar figure before him, even in a police uniform, his hair now cut short in a western style, and with his back to him, Kenshin recognized that figure in an instant.

“You had a hard time with Akumatsu,” Saito stated simply, not even having to turn around.  “You are not what you were, are you?”  Saito turned to him, dropping the fake smile he had worn before, instead bearing the fierce grin that a wolf gives its prey when cornered.   “The last time we fought was I believe Toba-Fushimi?  It’s been five years,” Saito got to his feet to face Kenshin, his katana held in his hand.

Kaoru looked between the men in surprise, _what’s going on here?_   She wondered, Kenshin’s jaw was tight and he had a look on his face that Kaoru didn’t understand.

“You two know each other?” Yahiko asked in surprise.

“Goro Fuijita?”  Kenshin mocked slightly, one eyebrow raised.  “A new name huh?  Captain of the Third Unit of the Shinsengumi, Hajime Saito.”

“Wow,” Yahiko leapt back from Saito who paid no attention to him, not now that Kenshin had arrived.  “You’re Shinsengumi?”  Yahiko looked around, not sure what to do.  _Shinsengumi, they were the ones who wanted to kill Kenshin in the war._

“Yahiko,” Kaoru called gesturing the boy to her, she wasn’t sure what was really going on, but she could sense the growing tension in the air between Kenshin and Saito and she didn’t want the boy to get caught in the middle of it.  Yahiko sensed it as well and he scrambled to Kaoru’s side.  Neither Kenshin nor Saito paid any attention to such minor details, they were too focused on each other.

“Five years,” Saito breathed.  “When you say it, it’s only two little words but these past five years have been quite a bit to live though.”

“You’re right,” Kenshin agreed in a deep voice.  “It was long enough for some people to turn rotten to the core.”

“What’s going on Kenshin?” Kaoru practically begged, pushing Yahiko behind herself, turning to Kenshin who ignored her. 

“Jin-e Odu was mad from the beginning, but you weren’t like that,” Kenshin stepped forward as Kaoru reached out to him.   “There were twists to you that could not be fathomed but you always had a strong will, and when you entered a battle you always came straight at your opponent with honor.  But hurting your enemy by hurting their friends, sending a dog in your place, taking hostages.  You _never_ used tricks like this,” Kenshin spat in rage.  “The Hajime Saito of the past, he was a man.”

Saito’s smile widened and a few chuckles broke through his smooth veneer, steadily growing until his threw his head back laughing. 

 _Hurting an enemy by hurting his friend,_ Yahiko turned to look at Saito who was laughing hysterically.  _This guy was the one who almost killed Sanosuke?_

 _Taking hostages?_   Kaoru wondered as she also stared at Saito in horror, _so we were being held as hostages?  We let him in unsuspecting, he could have done anything to us.  We never for a moment thought he was the enemy._

Kenshin’s eyebrows quirked at Saito’s laugher.  “What are you laughing at?” Yahiko demanded.  Saito smirked as he regained his composure but his amusement at Kenshin’s words was still evident on his face. 

“After words like that how could I not laugh boy?” he demanded.  He took a step forward.  “I had figured his sword had grown rusty, but I never expected his head.  Akamutsu a dog?”  Saito’s lips quirked upwards at the thought, “a weakling like him couldn’t even began to fill the role of a dog.  We of the Shinsengumi know the strength of the Hitokiri Battosai more than anyone else.  However,” he trailed off as he saw the chain marks on Kenshin’s neck.  “You had trouble today against Akamutsu, being a rurouni who doesn’t kill has obviously made you weak.”

“You think Kenshin,” Yahiko started in a shocked voice.

“Weak?”  Kaoru barely breathed.  She looked to Kenshin for some kind of reassurance but she received none.  His demander in no way contraindicated Saito’s statements.  Instead, it seemed from Kenshin’s face as though that were a fact he knew well.

“As long as I have the strength as a rurouni,” Kenshin started.  “To protect those around this one than that’s good enough.  I no longer need the strength of a Hitokiri, a murderer, that I do not.”

Saito’s eyes grew more amused with Kenshin’s words.  “If that’s the case than even as a rurouni you fail.”  He spat, he reached a hand up and started unbutton his jacket with one hand.  “While your hands were full fighting Akamatsu I was here the whole time.  On top of that your ignorant friends let their guard down just because I was a police officer.  Therefore, if I had wanted to kill them I could do so at any time.”  Saito stripped off his jacket and tossed it to the ground.

Kaoru glanced to Kenshin and for a moment she saw Kenshin’s hand tremble, it was the only reaction that he had to Saito’s words.  She glanced back to Saito, _why does he keep pointing out the fact?_   She wondered, feeling a rush of anger at him for his words that she knew had to be torturing Kenshin.  _Does he enjoy making Kenshin suffer?  Is that it?_

“But it wasn’t only this time,” Saito continued, drawing his katana and tossing the sheath away.  “When you fought Jin-e and Kanryu, you had those you ‘protect’, your word not mine,” Saito sneered.  “Fall into the hands of your enemy.  And you let scum like Ruijita, inflict a wound that will last a life time.” 

 _Has he been watching Kenshin this whole time?_ Kaoru wondered in fear.  Suddenly her feeling of being swept away by some fast current came back over her.  She felt the panic in her building, _what do I do?_

“Mediocre strength is as good as nothing, and the words of a hypocrite are empty and make me sick,” Saito finished. 

“Shut up!” Yahiko screamed, not paralyzed by Saito’s words like Kaoru was.  “Nobody died any of those times.  Because Kenshin was there to help.”

“But what guarantee is it that it will stay that way?”

Saito’s question hung in the air and even Yahiko hesitated to answer.    “And what about Zanza the fighter for hire?  If I wanted to I could have killed him at will.”  Saito told them in a cold voice.

“You did that to Sanosuke?” Yahiko breathed, his eyes going wide, he gripped his shinai tight fury.

“Kenshin?” Kaoru whispered so that only Kenshin could hear but there was no sign on his face that he had heard her.  In fact, his expression had changed very little since the start of the conversation.

“I thought the Battosai would see this, so I sent Akamatsu.”  Saito continued.  “But as you say, five years is enough time to turn someone rotten.  Drawing yourself in this pseudo justice of a rurouni who won’t kill.  How can Hitokiri Battosai protect without slaying?  Have you forgotten?” He shifted his sword up and held it before him pointing up to the ceiling.    “Aku Soku Zen, slay evil immediately, that was the one truth about justice that we had in common, it’s unbearable to see you like this.”

Kenshin blinked, holding his eyes closed for a fraction of a second longer than necessary.  “It doesn’t matter what you say.  I have no intention of taking another life, that I do not.”

“I see,” Saito stepped back into an elongated fighting stance, stretching his sword back in his left hand and holding his right arm out alongside the blade.  “Then come, and I will deny you everything you are.”  The light faded as the sun began to disappear beneath the horizon and the single lantern flicked alone, a solitary light in the darkness.  Saito’s eyebrows quirked at Kenshin’s refusal to step forward and accept his challenge, “what’s wrong Battosai?” he asked.  His gaze shifted to Kaoru who stood a half a step behind Kenshin.  “Do you really want the girl to caught by my gatotsu as well?”

A rush of feeling flooded through Kenshin at those words, _fine if this is the way it must be._ He stepped forward, a determined look on his face that changed to surprise as two strong hands reached out and grabbed his sleeve, clinging to him as a dying man clings to life, her head bowed.  Kaoru leaned forward, resting her head against the back of his shoulder and her grip on his kimono loosened slightly.

Kenshin’s face softened slightly, he wanted nothing more than to reach and dry the tears he knew where in her eyes which were hidden from view but he was also aware of Saito who stood ready to strike whether or not there was an innocent victim between him and the one whose head he sought.  Kenshin turned his face away from her, knowing that if he didn’t, he wouldn’t be able to face Saito.  Instead he took a deep breath and walked forward, freeing himself from Kaoru’s grip.  He circled Saito who straightened up from his stance, turning to keep facing Kenshin.

Kaoru’s eyes widened as Kenshin walked away and she looked up through her unshed tears, clenching her jaw to keep from crying as the men faced off across the width of the dojo.

“What are you waiting for?” Saito taunted.

“Aren’t you the challenger?” Kenshin answered.

Saito smirked as he stepped back into his gatotsu, “fair enough.”  He charged forward thrusting with his sword and Kenshin dodged the blow, attacking as he jumped into the air and swung in a head to toe slash, his favorite move which Saito blocked.

Yahiko’s face lit up as recognized the move, _Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu’s ryutsuisen!  Kenshin’s not weak, he’s the strongest of all!_

Saito didn’t blink for a moment at Kenshin’s dodge of his own attack, _do you think you can dodge it that easily Battosai?_   He shifted his weapon slightly and turned his block of Kenshin’s weapon into a thrust that broke through Kenshin’s defense and pierce him in his right side.  _The ‘void’ gatotsu’._ Kenshin’s eyes widen in pain and shock at that blow as he started to fall back down after his initial leap to attack Saito.

“KENSHIN!” Kaoru screamed, next to her Yahiko’s eyes went wide and his jaw dropped.

 _He turned his waist to avoid the point, a quicker reaction than I thought.  But not good enough,_ Saito thought as the instant his sword pierce he shifted and turned the thrust into a slash seamlessly, tossing the still airborne Kenshin across the dojo.  To add insult to injury he added a kick to his slash, catching Kenshin on the hip.

Kenshin hit the floor of the dojo on his knees, clenching his wounded side, his head down panting from the pain.

 _Even if the stab misses he can turned it instantly into a slash,_ Kaoru thought in horror even as a small part of her mind still able to analyze Saito’s movements and style as the calm dojo master.  _The Shinsengumi used the hiruzuki which was developed by Toshizo Hijikata, assistant leader of the Shinsengumi, because it has no blind spots.  His variation of it seems even more effective._   She wanted to rush forward, she wanted to help, but her feet were glued to the floor.  She told herself that it was because of her promise to Kenshin not to get involved in such things anymore.  She tried not to think that it was her own fear that held her immobilized, she had seen this kind of fight before when Kenshin had faced Jin-e.  She shook at the memories for the battle, how she had almost died, how Kenshin had almost killed Jin-e to save her.  And the worst memory was the look in Kenshin’s eyes when he finally reverted to his former hitokiri self. 

Yahiko looked to Kaoru with worry in his eyes, thinking that she would be ready to leap into the fight at Kenshin’s side.  When he saw her wide eyes and her body trembling he felt his own panic growing.  _What’s wrong with her?_ He looked back to Kenshin, _what is this even all about?_  

Saito stepped back into his long stance, not waiting for Kenshin to get up to face him and Kaoru gasped, _another gatotsu?_

 _In battles of life or death it is rare to meet the same enemy twice and so know what they are capable of and how to counter it.  That is why one must have single attack that is certain to finish an opponent, and when you have such a technique there is no need for a lesser one.  The strength of the Shinsengumi was not in the group tactics but in each members mastery of their own deadly techniques._   That was why Saito relayed so heavily on the gatotsu, there were few opponents that lived past his first strike, and of those, only Kenshin still remained alive.

Kenshin was panting but he kept his eyes on Saito through his long bangs, in his mind though it wasn’t Saito standing before him in the dark Kamiya dojo dressed in his police uniform.  It was Saito in the uniform of the Shinsengumi and they were facing off in some dark corner of Kyoto.   Saito charged and Kenshin leapt from the floor, crossing his sword against Saito’s in a weapon break, knocking Saito’s blade off its course.  Kenshin’s leap brought him close to Saito but before he could attack, Saito used his off hand to backhand Kenshin in the head knocking and against the side wall of the dojo.  Kenshin hit the wall hard and collapsed into a heap on the ground, panting from the pain. 

Saito raised his sword, “the skills that enabled me to survive countless duels from the Bakumatsu to the Meiji are not even known today.  There’s no way you could even scratch on me as you are now.”

 _This guy is in a completely different class_ , Yahiko thought in amazement, he had never seen anyone who could take everything Kenshin dished out and returned it three-fold.

“Kenshin!” Kaoru screamed again, unlike the last time Saito knocked him away, this time Kenshin didn’t seem as though he could counter if Saito were to attack again.  Saito was walking towards the down Kenshin who made no attempt to regain his feet.  Kaoru stopped hesitating, her fear of Kenshin overwhelmed her fear of Saito and she ran forward.  She saw Saito approaching and she grabbed a bokken from the wall, skidding to a halt, standing before Kenshin, holding out her bokken.  “I won’t let you near him,” Kaoru told Saito, her voice cracking with emotion. 

Saito stopped his approach at this intrusion into his duel.  Kaoru’s face was trembling as she struggled not to cry, but her hands were steady and her stance was firm, not giving an inch to the enemy that she clearly knew outclassed her abilities.  “You’re in the way,” he coolly informed her.  _This may be an issue, I thought he would do anything to protect her and the others but I didn’t realize that she would get involved in things.  Women.  Always unpredictable._

“No,” Kaoru replied, her voice still cracking.

 _Damn girl, is she really going to make me go through her?_  Saito thought in annoyance, but Kenshin’s panting turned into a grunt of pain as he stood back up, one hand on the wall to help steady himself.  Kaoru’s eyes shifted behind her as Kenshin lifted his head to stare down Saito, she hesitated at the look of fury in his eyes but Saito grinned internally at that look.  Kenshin pushed Kaoru aside and the bokken fell from her hands and clattered on the ground as Kenshin pushed her back.  She stared after him with wide eyes.  Saito understood what in that look froze Kaoru, _even with a deep wound to his chest area his response to my second attack was faster than the first.  It’s as I expected, since he’s lived here he‘s fought Zanza, Jin-e, the Oniwanbanshu, Aoshi Shinomori, and Raijuta.  And all in a very short period of time.  And each time he draws his sword he unknowingly, unconsciously, reverts back to himself.  To the Hitokiri Battosai._

Kenshin didn’t say a word, once he was sure Kaoru was out of the way of harm he charged.  Meanwhile Kaoru sunk to her knees in horror at the look in Kenshin’s eyes. 

 _He’s gotten even faster!_   Saito thought in astonishment.   He thrust forward at Kenshin but Kenshin just vanished from Saito’s vision, he barely even saw Kenshin drop to a low crouch.  But Kenshin’s attack from there was slowed due to pain and that hair’s breadth of hesitation on Kenshin’s part was all Saito needed to kick Kenshin violently, redirecting his sword down towards Kenshin but Kenshin moved his head to avoid that blow as he went skidding back from the kick, panting in pain.  He looked up as the leather tie in his hair snapped from where it had been partially cut through by Saito’s sword, and his hair came unbound from its low ponytail he always wore.

 _What was that?_ Saito wondered, he straightened up as he appraised Kenshin.  He realized that the only thing that had saved him from Kenshin’s attack was the wound he had inflicted earlier.  _That move far surpassed my expectations_

Kaoru watched Kenshin, _his breathing, it’s too harsh,_ she thought.  _He’s using more strength than he thinks he has and his body just can’t up with this pace in his condition._   “Kenshin please stop,” Kaoru pleaded, her voice barely above a whisper.  Kenshin stood up, his breathing slowed and his eyes were filled with blood lust.  _Not again!_   Kaoru thought in horror, she knew that look, she had seen it before when Kenshin had stood over Jin-e holding his sword high about to deal the deathblow to his enemy to save Kaoru’s life.  _Please not again._

Kenshin took a few steps forward and Kaoru reached out her hand as though it would bridge the gap between them and bring Kenshin back to his former self.  “Kenshin,” she pleaded, her voice a little stronger.  “Please stop this.”

 _The longer the fight goes on the more he enters his spirit of five years ago, the closer he comes to the Battosai,_ Saito’s gaze shifted as he caught a better glimpse of the look in Kenshin’s eyes who seemed as though he didn’t hear Kaoru’s desperate plea.  He never remembered a look like that in the past.  _Or has he simply snapped?_   He wondered.  He stepped back into the gatsu, _only one way to find out._   “No more holding back Battosai,” he warned him as he stepped into the true gatotsu. 

“He’s been holding back until now?” Yahiko squeaked, he looked to Kaoru who seemed unable to get to her feet.

Saito charged forward with his gatotsu, this time Kenshin simply stepped to the side at the last second before the thrust strike him.  _So quick but has he forgotten the side slash?_   Saito wondered in that split second, _or has he just snapped?_

As Saito turned the thrust into a swing as Kenshin dropped to his knees with a spin and swung with his sword, catching Saito across his shoulders, knocking him straight into the wall with force of his blow. 

 _Damn,_ Yahiko thought with a flash of pride _.  He turned as he dodged filling his blow with centrifugal force._   Yahiko glanced to Kaoru figuring that Kenshin’s comeback would also make her feel as relived as Yahiko.  His heart dropped however when he saw the look of absolute horror in Kaoru’s eyes as she stared at Kenshin.  He saw her mouth Kenshin’s name, one hand trembled as it reached out for him.

“However strong the gatotsu may be, when it’s shown four times in a few minutes any idiot can come up with a few ways to counter it,” Kenshin spat.  He took a few steps towards Saito.  “Get up Saito,” he ordered harshly.  “It would be a pathetic end to our five-year duel for you to die that easily!”

Saito picked himself up from the ground, wiping the blood off his face from the cut he received when he had shammed into the wall, he turned to face Kenshin, his eyes holding the same look as Kenshin’s.  “My orders were to only to evaluate your strength, but I don’t care about them now.  I will kill you now.”

 _‘Orders’?_   Yahiko wondered.  _‘Evaluate strength’?  What is he talking about?_

“Quit posing,” Kenshin retorted.  “You know it is I who will kill you.”

Kaoru gasped, choking for a moment on a sob realizing that her nightmare had come true, the Kenshin she knew and loved was gone and now she was facing the true Hitokiri Battosai.  “Kenshin,” She whispered, putting a hand on the floor to help her back onto her feet.  “KENSHIN PLEASE STOP!”  She screamed starting to leap forward but Yahiko was there in a flash.  Even he realized what would happen if Kaoru were to jump in now between two fighters determined to fight to the death.

“Kaoru calm down,” Yahiko pleaded.

“KENSHIN STOP THIS!” Kaoru continued to scream, fighting against Yahiko.  She was heedless of the danger of jumping between those two men, her feelings for Kenshin overwhelming her.

Meanwhile the men paid no attention to Kaoru’s screams.  Kenshin stepped back into the stance for battojutsu, sheathing his sword and holding it at the ready as Saito crouched into the gatotsu. 

***

Megumi sighed as she stretched her neck, _where on the earth are the others?_   She wondered.  It had been awhile since someone had come in, the lantern Megumi had lit flicked against the growing darkness.  She looked at Sanosuke who continued to sleep, _and when is this blockhead going to wake up?_

The clock continued to tick away the hour and finally Megumi couldn’t take it anymore, it had been too long since she had seen any of the others so she decided to investigate.  She got up and was opening the door when she heard a groan behind her.

“Why do I feel like someone’s been tap dancing on my head?” Sanosuke groaned, starting to sit up slowly, his body moving stiffly against the pain.

“Lay back down,” Megumi ordered, going into doctor mode in an instant, she kneeled back down and pushed Sanosuke’s back down on the bed.  “You had a very deep wound, lost a lot of blood, and have been sleeping for over a day.  You shouldn’t move too quickly.”  She ordered. 

“Where’s Kenshin?” Sanosuke asked in a rush as the memories of what happened in the dojo came rushing back to him.  “I’ve got to tell him, someone’s after him.”  He started rising up again and Megumi pushed him back.

“We already know about that, the Police Chief sent one of his officers over here to warn Kenshin.  He’s waiting for Kenshin to get back in the dojo right now.”

“Where’s Kenshin?”  Sanosuke asked again, his brows furrowed as he tried to process the information Megumi had reported.

Megumi shook her head, “we’re not sure, he had to leave earlier and he didn’t tell Yahiko where he was going or why.  We’re just lucky that Officer Fujita was sent here in case the manic after Kenshin, hey let go me!” Megumi screamed as Sanosuke grabbed a handful of her kimono and used it to pull himself upright.  Megumi beat at his hand but Sanosuke held on determinedly, his eyes wild.

“What the hell did you say?” he demanded.

“I said that it was nice of the Chief to send Officer Fuijita to-”

“Goro Fuijita?” Sanosuke demanded, pulling Megumi closer.

Megumi nodded, her eyes puzzled.  “How do you know his name?”

Sanosuke shoved her back slightly, releasing his grip on her kimono and Megumi clutched at her chest.  “That’s the son of a birth who stabbed me and left me for dead and who’s after Kenshin.”

Megumi gasped, “he’s in the dojo, with Yahiko.” She scrambled to her feet, running to the door in fear before she heard a thud behind her.  She glanced behind her to see that Sanosuke had also tried to get to his knees but had fallen and was now cursing under his breath.  Megumi shook her head before she looped one of Sanosuke’s arms around her neck and hauled him to his feet.

***

The blades clanged in the dojo as the swords flew almost faster than the eye could follow and Yahiko was shocked not only by the speed and strength at which the two men moved but also by the look in both men’s eyes, the look of men bent on murder.  Kaoru was for the moment pacified by Yahiko who was keeping his arms wrapped tightly wrapped around her.  She was crying openly, her body shaking but Yahiko didn’t dare let go of her, in her state he wasn’t sure what she might do.

Kenshin avoid Saito’s attack by leaping up, twisting his body to the side to brace his feet against the wall of the dojo as he cut downward with his sword, his blade clanging against Saito’s before Kenshin used the wall as a spring board to somersault over Saito’s head and attack again.  Their blades clanged together again in rapid succession as Saito moved around in a circling motion until Kenshin’s back was once again to the dojo’s walls.  The next time their blades clang Saito locked the weapons and shoved Kenshin against the wall.  Kenshin crouched slightly, dropping his weight as he swung his foot up and kicked Saito in the chin.  As Saito’s head snapped back he whipped his sword at Kenshin who crouched down and rolled across the floor, springing back to his feet as Saito pivoted around.  There was blood trickling out of Saito’s mouth and he spit it and the tooth Kenshin had knocked out on the dojo floor as he stepped back into his gatotsu as Kenshin once again sheathed his sword and stepped back into battojutsu. 

This time when they charged, Saito thrust with his gatotsu as Kenshin drew his sword and swung it in his battojutsu and there was a snapping sound when the swords hit and the men moved past each other in their charges.  Yahiko felt the rush of wind as the tip of Saito’s blade went flying past his head and impaled itself several inches deep into the wall.  With wide eyes, Yahiko turned his head to see the blade that almost killed him.  _Whoa._

 “Next time, it will be your head flying,” Kenshin promised in a raspy voice turning to face Saito sideways raising his sword as he made his vow.

Saito’s eyes narrowed in acknowledgement of what Kenshin had just done.  _And that was with a sakabato._

“Kenshin looks out of his mind,” Yahiko muttered, for the first time noticing that something was off about the way Kenshin was acting.  _This doesn’t seem like the usual Kenshin._

“That’s not Kenshin, that’s Hitokiri Battosai!” Kaoru cried.

“Huh?” Yahiko asked, loosening his grip on Kaoru.

Kaoru took that chance and tore herself out of Yahiko’s grip.  “KENSHIN STOP!” she screamed, starting forward before a strong hand reached out and grabbed her ponytail, jerking Kaoru’s head back and Kaoru’s feet flew out from underneath her and she landed unceremoniously on her back.  She looked back to see it was Megumi who had grabbed her as she supported Sanosuke.  Neither she nor Yahiko had noticed when they had come through the side door of the dojo a few moments earlier. 

“Stay put!” Yahiko ordered as he took advantage of Kaoru on the floor and sat on her chest, pinning her arms.

“Somebody has to stop them!” Kaoru cried.

“That’s impossible Missy,” Sanosuke told her, he had seen some of the fight and between that and what Saito had told him earlier about the Bakumatsu he guessed the rest.  “We can’t stop those two, they’re not fighting for us in Tokyo, or even in the Meiji, they’re fighting in Kyoto, during the revolution.”  _It’s going to take someone who lived through that nightmare to stop these two now._  


	21. The Wolf’s Path

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late posting, got to spend the weekend in the ER/hospital with sick fiancé so wasn't at a computer to post this chapter. But now that he's home and feeling better it's time to update our story.

**Chapter 20**

**The Wolf’s Path**

“Ahhhhhh!”  Tsubama cried as she jumped out of the way of a carriage that was traveling at breakneck speed through the middle of town.  Tsubama fell to her knees in fright, clenching her hands to her chest, panting in shock.

“Are you all right Tsubama?” Tae cried as she came running out of the Akabeko.  Tsubama nodded her eyes still wide.   Tae looked up after the carriage that disappeared down the street amidst the wave of people who scrambled out of the way to avoid being hit.  “Riding so hard through the middle of town at this hour,” Tae scoffed.  “I don’t know or care who he is, but _no one_ should be in that big of a hurry!”  _I hope someone is dying to justify that rush._

Meanwhile inside the carriage two high government officials sat.  “Ashikaga-kun,” Okubo started.

“Yes what is it?” Ashikaga answered.

“How long has been since Saito entered that dojo?” Okubo asked.

Ashikaga took out his watch reading the time as 6:10 and he did a quick mental estimate.  “About four and half hours,” he answered.

“Humm,” Okubo mused, “we may already arrive too late, make the carriage go even faster.”

Ashikaga didn’t hesitate he turned to the small window behind him that was next to the driver and pulled back the screen over it so he could shout out.  “Get us there in ten minutes!” he ordered sharply.

“Yes sir,” the driver answered whipping up the horses and spurned them forward even faster.

 _The fate of the nation may ride on this, but that’s no good if they kill each other first_.  Ashikaga thought, once again he wondered how much they could trust Saito to follow his original mission and not deviate from it just because he was faced with his old enemy.

***

Saito stepped back into the stance of the gatotsu, raising his broken blade.

 _What the hell does he think he’s doing?_   Sanosuke thought.  _Is this guy just stupid?  What can he possibly do with a broken blade?_

“You Shinsengumi never did know when to retreat,” Kenshin mocked as he swiped his sword back.

“First rule of the Shinsengumi, ‘act in a manner befitting a samurai’,” Saito quoted.  “And fleeing an enemy before you is not an option!”  He yelled as he charged forward.  Before he reached Kenshin at the other end of the dojo he threw his broke blade at Kenshin.  Kenshin’s face didn’t react as he raised his left fist and knocked the blade off its course, avoiding using his sword to prevent from leaving himself open to Saito’s attack.  Instead, as Saito came in range Kenshin started moving forward, his own sword raised to attack. 

 _And you choose pride over life as a samurai should._   Kenshin thought as he swung his blade down to strike. 

 _It’s over,_ Sanosuke thought.  _Not even that man can block Kenshin’s attacks with martial arts._

But much to everyone’s surprise before coming into range of Kenshin’s sword Saito reached to his waist and whipped his belt off, swinging the leather belt like a whip down on Kenshin’s hand when Kenshin moved forward to attack him.  The crack across Kenshin’s hand caused him to drop his sword and it went skidding across the dojo’s floor while Saito attacked with multiple punches to Kenshin’s chest.  Kenshin tried to block but after his failed attack he had been left wide open.  

“Ken-san!” Megumi cried, starting forward but Sanosuke’s weight held her back.

Kenshin stumbled back from the attack, Saito whipped off his jacket and as he moved behind the stunned Kenshin, he wrapped it around Kenshin’s throat and pulling, tightening its grip around Kenshin, lifting Kenshin up so he was on tiptoe.

“He’s going to strangle him to death!” Yahiko cried in fear.

 _It’s nothing that gentle, he’s really trying to snap Kenshin’s_ _neck,_ Sanosuke corrected but didn’t want to say.

 _It’s useless accept your fate Battosai,_ Saito thought as he tightened his grip and Kenshin clung to the coil of fabric around his throat making choking noises as he tried desperately to loosen its grip.  Kenshin wasn’t quite so willing to give up though, he reached down with one hand to the scabbard in his belt and jammed it upwards, striking Saito in the jaw and freeing himself.  He jumped away from Saito once Saito’s grip weakened and with one hand untangle the jacket from around his throat and toss it away.

 _Is this what the Bakumatsu was like?_   Sanosuke wondered as he watched the two men fight.  It was insane, fighting until they had nothing and then continuing the fight.  He had never seen anything like it before as the men glared at each other, breathing hard from their execrations.  Saito wiped away the blood on his face, the look of murderous determination still pasted on his face and echoed in Kenshin’s.  _Neither one of them has the strength to keep going,_ Sanosuke continued.  T _he next attack will decide the battle, life or death, or will they kill each other?_

Yahiko had finally gotten off of Kaoru since she was no longer fighting him, now she was kneeled on the ground, her hands on the dojo’s floor watching the fight with tears streaming down her face.  “Kenshin,” she whispered.

Saito straighten up a little and started cracking his knuckles, “shall we end this?”

“I agree,” Kenshin answered squeezing his scabbard.

“Kenshin!” Kaoru cried jumping up from the floor as the men charged each other, reaching one hand out to stop Kenshin.  Her hand was inches away from grabbing Kenshin’s sleeve when a cry echoed through the dojo, halting the everyone.

“STOP THIS RIGHT NOW!” a man cried with authority.  Everyone turned to face the newcomers, Kaoru and the others with surprise and Kenshin and Saito with annoyance that their fight had been interrupted.  Yahiko wondered who these two men where, one was dressed in the western style and the other, though dressed more traditionally, was still richly clothed.  Both men looked like someone important but he had no idea who they were.

“Get a hold of yourself Saito,” the first man in the traditional dress ordered.  “Your mission was only to evaluate his strength, not to kill him!”

“We’re in the middle of something here,” Saito answered as he straighten up to face the intruders.  “I won’t allow even the Minster of the Interior to interfere.”

 “Minster of the Interior?” Megumi wondered out loud.

“Evaluate his strength?” Sanosuke added.

“Wait, what’s going on here?” Yahiko cried, now truly lost, but no one answered his question.

“We know very well your pride as a former member of the Shinsengumi,” the second man began.  “But you know very well that it is pointless to waste you or Himura’s lives here.  There is work to be done.”

“I see the masterminds behind all of this,” Kenshin began, glaring at the two men.  “It is two former warriors of the Satsuma province, Toshimichi Okubo, the Finance Mister, and Yuudai Ashikaga, Minster of the Interior.”

“Finance Minster?  Minster of the Interior?” Kaoru wondered aloud.  She personally didn’t know or care who these men were.  She was just glad that they had put a stop to the fight before it was too late.  _Okubo one of the great patriots and now a man of greater, though quieter power,_ Kaoru thought before turning her gaze to Ashikaga, _And Ashikaga the man who for weeks has been preventing Japan from going to war until Kido and Okubo could return and settle the debate.  He also wields a great deal of power in the government as the Minster of the Interior._

“Okay seriously I’m lost,” Yahiko broke it, disturbing the mood.  “Are these guys supposed to be important or something?”

“Wow Kaoru’s right, you are pretty ignorant aren’t you?” Sanosuke answered in amazement and Yahiko fumed at him.

“Okubo-sama is one of the three men who achieved the highest merits in the Revolution and under their combined forces lead the way into the Meiji era and he now serves as the Finance Minster controlling the purse strings of the government.  And Ashikaga-sama also helped to lead the combined armies from the Satsuma region in the war and now serves as the Minster of the Interior which controls the national policy and concerns.  In other words, these two men represent the majority of the power of the country.”  Megumi answered.

“Ooo-Kay,” Yahiko answered, still not quite getting it but willing to play along for now instead of being called ignorant again.

“I’m sorry we had to resort to such crude methods,” Okubo apologized to Kenshin.  “But we had to know the extent of your abilities after all these years, will you talk with us?”

“I’d like nothing better,” Kenshin answered in a fierce voice.  _And you can explain why you endangered the life of my friends in this quest of yours._

 _Okubo and Ashikaga are in on this?_   Akamatsu thought in shock from where he was hidden outside the dojo eavesdropping on the conversation inside.  _I never thought anyone as powerful as them would be in on this.  Let alone both of them, this is getting too dangerous, I’d better scram._   He inched away and took off running as soon as he was out of earshot.

Saito heard the faint scrap and knew that the one who had been eavesdropping outside had finally left the area once he realized the extent to which the plot extended.  _I’d better go quickly or my prey will escape before I can deal with them,_ he thought.  _The Battosai can wait, I know where to find him when this is over._

“Hump,” Saito reached to the floor to pick up his jacket and swing it over his shoulder carelessly.  “The best duel I’ve had in five years has turned into a conversation.  We’ll have to wait for another opportunity to settle the score,” he told Kenshin as he started walking out of the dojo. 

“Your life has been spared for now,” Kenshin told him with a sideways glare.

“And so has yours,” Saito answered with a backwards look as he started to walk past Okubo and Ashikaga.

“Saito,” Ashikaga snapped.  “Report.”

“Kenshin Himura is useless.” Saito reported.  “But Hitokiri Battosai may still have something to offer.  That’s all.”  With that he walked away and disappeared out the front gate and past the carriage waiting outside.

“That man,” Ashikaga started in a voice that betrayed his frustrations.  “He may be the best spy we have in the police but I never know what that Mibu wolf is thinking.” 

Okubo stepped forward, “Himura-san I have a carriage waiting outside, come with us please, we have things that we need to discuss.”

“Not a chance,” Kenshin spat back, still enraged from his fight with Saito and all the emotions and memories it had stirred up.  Okubo’s and Ashikaga’s eyes widen slightly at Kenshin’s rudeness.  “You think I’m the only one you involved in this madness?” he asked harshly.  Suddenly his eyes shifted as he realized that he was still acting out from his mindset during his fight.  Everyone’s eyes widen as Kenshin balled up his fist and punched himself in the head.  Kaoru took a couple of steps towards Kenshin, not quite sure what to make of Kenshin’s latest action.  When Kenshin lowered his hand, his eyes were no longer narrowed and his face, and despite the blood and sweat looked like his normal self again.  “If you would please tell the story here since this incident has involved this one’s friends.”  Kenshin continued in a more polite tone.

 _‘This one’?_   Kaoru breathed a sigh of relief realizing that the Kenshin she loved was back and that his Hitokiri self had been buried once again.

“All of us here deserve to hear your explanation,” Kenshin finished.

“Kenshin you’re back!” Kaoru cried as she ran up around Kenshin and wrapped her arms tightly around him, burying her face into his shoulder.

“AHHH,” Kenshin cried in pain, Kaoru let go in a flash, realizing that Kenshin had been wounded in the fight and her hugging him had only aggravated his earlier chest wound.  Kenshin was bent over, gasping in pain and clenching his bleeding side. 

Kaoru raised her hands to her mouth, “sorry,” she squeaked, looking over her shoulder to Megumi.  “Megumi!”

Megumi rolled her eyes, dropping her grip on Sanosuke and started forward, completely unconcerned that once she stopped supporting Sanosuke he swayed and would have fallen if Yahiko hadn’t leapt forward and grabbed him.  “You silly girl,” Megumi scoffed at Kaoru as she grabbed a hold of Kenshin, moving his hands to get a better look at his wounds.  “Get me some light, bandages, and water now!”  she ordered sharply.  “Explanations of all this can wait until after we’ve seen to these wounds.”

Ashikaga turned to Okubo, “Okubo-kun?”

“We’ll wait,” Okubo answered.  “We need his help and this is the only way to get it.”

***

Later on, after Kenshin’s wounds had been seen too everyone was sitting in the house, a couple lanterns lit to give them some light.  By unspoken agreement Kaoru and the others sat on one side of the room, except for Sanosuke who was standing up, leaning against the wall.  They were not yet sure if they considered Okubo and Ashikaga friends or foes considering what little they knew at present.  Sanosuke didn’t want to sit down, in his state he wasn’t sure how quick he could get up if there was some kind of fight with the newcomers and he wanted to be prepared for all eventualities, especially with events up to present. 

“I won’t waste your time with pleasantries,” Okubo began.  “I’ll get right to the point.  Himura-san, Shishio plots the downfall of the government in the underground of Kyoto.”

Kenshin’s eyes narrowed, the others glanced at each other with furrowed brows from Okubo to Kenshin, having no idea who this ‘Shishio’ was.

Sanosuke couldn’t take it anymore, he was hurt, his best friend had almost died in a fight that made no sense, these two Meiji Imperialists were now talking to them saying that they would get to the point but the only one who seemed to understand what was going was Kenshin and these men.  “What the hell is that?” He demanded.  “You call that to the point?  Who the hell is this ‘Shishio’ and what does that have to with Kenshin?”

“Watch your tongue!” Ashikaga snapped, infuriated at Sanosuke’s lack of manners though it fazed neither Kenshin or the others.  Megumi thought Sanosuke was showing a great deal of restraint given the circumstances.

“Makoto Shishio,” Kenshin began to explain, his voice deathly serious.  “Is a Hitokiri from the revolution like this one.  After I emerged from the shadows as a ‘free striking samurai’ against the Shinsengumi and its allies, Makoto Shishio, another Choshu revolutionary took over the role as the ‘Hitokiri of the Shadows’.  In other words, he is the successor to Hitokiri Battosai.”  Kenshin explained. 

Yahiko gasped, “Hitokiri Battosai’s…”

“Successor?” Megumi finished.

“You had a successor?” Sanosuke asked with a dumbfounded look.  “Why have we never heard of him?”  Kaoru just glanced at Kenshin with a sad expression on her face.

“Since he remained in the shadows almost no one knows of his existence, even I have never met him face to face,” Kenshin explained.  _And the only reason that I know who he was is because I was the man whose role he took over._   He looked towards Okubo and Ashikaga with a question in his eyes.  “But how can this be that he lives?  I heard of his death in the Boshin Wars five years ago.”  Ashikaga and Okubo exchanged a meaningful glance and Kenshin read that look in a moment.  A slight sigh escaped his lips, “ahh, so the truth has been hidden by the ones who control the shadows.”  _A man whose life is a dark secret can be made to disappear into even greater darkness, and in those chaotic times it wouldn’t even have been hard to do.  What is one more death among thousands?_

“At the time we had no other choice, “Ashikaga began to explain.  “Makoto’s skill with the blade was a great as yours, but he also had ambitions and greed beyond imagination.  His only reason for the taking the task of the Hitokiri of the Shadows was to let the higher making Imperialists feel his power and presence unlike you who only wished to fight for your comrades and the weak.  Some of the assassinations he carried out were so crucial and important that if they were realized by the public the whole Meiji government would be turned on its head.  So if we were to enter the new age with Shishio alive he could use that vulnerability to get his hands around the nation’s throat.”

“So he _was_ killed in the chaos of the Boshin Wars, or at least that was your intention,” Kenshin stated.

Okubo nodded.  “Yes we killed him, so we thought, he was shot and then we even had his body drenched in oil and burned but even with all of that Makoto Shishio survived, and since then he has become a demon of revenge since we became aware of his presence three years ago.  We’re not sure how, but at some point he joined forces with a man known as Sadokima Hoji.”

Kenshin’s eyes shifted into puzzlement at the unknown name.  “Who is that?” he asked.

 _Oh this one I know,_ Sanosuke thought with excitement.  “Hoji, the Master of the Underworld, rumors says that the Hoji family has been pulling the strings of every major underworld and yakuzua operation in Japan for over four hundred years.  He’s supposed to have taken over the family business after he stabbed his father in the back, literally.  It’s also said that he cut his father into a dozen pieces and buried him all over Japan or tossed his body to the ocean.  Depends on who you talk to.” Sanosuke shrugged and then immediately regretted as it sent shoots of pain through his body.

“Why am I not surprised that you would know about someone like that?” Megumi muttered.

“Quite right,” Ashikaga answered Sanosuke.  He turned to Kenshin to continue the story.  “With Hoji’s backing and money he has also gathered other warriors who crave blood, war, or power like himself and together they have created an army making Kyoto their base.  They are plotting a war of vengeance that would split the country in two with the secrets of his assassinations.  We have tried sending in troops quietly but they have all been annihilated.  We have learned the hard way that we cannot use direct force against this man.  Which means you, Himura, with your skills are our last hope.”

“For the sake of the people of this country, will you please go to Kyoto once again?” Okubo asked softly.

“Does that mean,” Kaoru spoke up in a quiet voice.  “That you want Kenshin to assassinate Shishio?”  Kaoru’s question had all the others staring intently at Okubo and Ashikaga as they waited for an answer, Kenshin however simply lowered his head, hiding his eyes behind his long bangs and preventing anyone from being able to read his thoughts.

“To put it bluntly, yes,” Okubo answered.

“Of course we don’t expect you to do this for free,” Ashikaga assured them.  “We will pay a handsome bounty and take care of your friends here, such as pardoning crimes like Megumi Takani’s crime of manufacturing opium.”

Megumi slammed her hand down on the floor in anger, glaring at Ashikaga.  “You’ve got to be kidding!” she replied, her voice trembling with rage that they would try to hold her life as ransom over Kenshin to force him to kill.  “If you are going to use me as a bargaining tool with Kenshin, then I choose execution instead!”

Sanosuke scoffed, “you use some pretty dirty tricks, and that’s coming from me.  This whole thing is because of the vile stuff you did in the past.  Why should Kenshin have to wipe your assess?  He choose the life of a Rurouni, taking a vow to never kill, and I won’t stand by while you try to drag him into your filth.”  Sanosuke vowed.

Ashikaga’s hand flew to his waist where his sword used to be but of course he carried no weapon at present.  Instead he raised up to his knees, fists clenched at Sanosuke’s words.  “I should cut your tongue out you ignorant punk!”  He yelled.  “The government is in danger of being overthrown, can’t you see that?”

“Dirty governments deserve to be overthrown,” Sanosuke yelled back.  “What have you done for the people anyways?”

“Without the Meiji Government there can be no peace in the land you fool!”  Ashikaga spat.

“You guys are so egotistical you believe anything,” Sanosuke shrugged.

Yahiko cleaned his ear out with one finger, “I’m not really getting all of this politics and stuff,” Yahiko piped up, cutting Ashikaga off.  “But even a kid like me can see that if things had been a little different than you would be asking this Shishio guy to go after Kenshin.  All you guys care about is assassinations if they benefit you and not what about the people who carry them out or those who die.  Honestly, I’d never get mixed up with people like you.”  _After all I’ve already been there and done that,_ he thought remembering his time with yakuzua.

“Okubo-sama, Ashikaga-sama,” Kaoru addressed them, slightly bowing her head in respect.  The first one of the three to even show any kind of respect to these men.  “I understand the desperateness of the situation that and the government faces from Makoto Shishio and why you’ve come here seeking the help of Hitokiri Battosai, but I’m afraid that all of this has been in vain.  Kenshin isn’t a Hitokiri anymore, and if you try to force Kenshin to do this by some other way then the others and I will resist you.  We will not let Kenshin go to Kyoto to carry out this terrible deed.  I’m sorry you’ve wasted your time.”

Kenshin lifted his head a little, turning his head to look at Kaoru, her tears from earlier were gone and her face was now one of silent determination. 

Ashikaga was about to say more but Okubo cut him off.  “We didn’t expect an answer tonight.  Please think it over carefully Himura-san.  In one-week Ashikaga will return to hear your answer.” 

Ashikaga bowed his head slightly, accepting his role.  “Thank you for hearing us out Himura-san, I’ll anticipate a favorable reply.”

Ashikaga and Okubo bowed their heads slightly before the stood up, preparing to make their exit.

“Okubo-san, Ashikaga-san, you both look more tired than you did five years ago.”  Kenshin called out softly to the retreating backs of the two men.

Ashikaga turned back, a tired half smile on his face, “we are learning slowly that it is more difficult to build up a new era that it is to destroy an old one.  I will see you in one week from now Himura-san, on September 22.”

***

Across town in a neighborhood of fancy homes of government and other high-ranking officials a frantic conversation was taken place in the one of the upper rooms, the master bedroom of the house.  “Okubo and Ashikaga are both involved?” Shibumi gasped in surprised, barely able to believe that Akamutsu was telling him. 

“Yeah what are you going to do?” Akamutsu demanded in fright. 

Shibumi grinned, rubbing his chin with one hand as a thought occurred to him.  “So Saito is Ashikaga and Okubo’s dog.  This can work out very nicely for me.  If I pay Saito off to get me some dirt on both of them I just might have a shot at being the Minster of the Interior or even higher!”

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Akamutsu gasped, thinking Shibumi had lost his mind.  “If we try to go up against them then nine lives won’t be enough, it’s insanity,” he backed away from Shibumi towards the door.  “There’s nothing you could offer me to take on a job like this so I’ll think I’ll hightail it out of here to somewhere safe like Shanghai.”

“I know a place that is much safer than Shanghai,” a deep voice intoned and Shibumi and Akamatsu both looked up startled to see Saito slid back the door, a naked sword in his hand and dressed once again as a police officer in a spotless uniform.  Without a second thought, and before Akamatsu could fully recover from the shock of seeing him, Saito cut Akamatsu’s head off and his body slumped to the floor as the head rolled a few steps.  “It’s call hell if I’m not mistake,” Saito continued completely unconcerned as he stepped over Akamatsu’s body towards Shibumi who cowered back, hitting a set of drawers and he slowly slid down it to his knees in fear.  “Shibumi there is one thing I’d like you to understand before you die,” Saito began as Shibumi trembled.  “You Imperialists think you created the Meiji all by yourselves.  But you are wrong, we sided with the shogunate and also risked our lives to create the Meiji by being the ones who lost.  The reason I aid the government as a former Shinsengumi who spies for his conquerors is so that I can rid the Meiji of the blood sucking ticks who feed on it.  If anyone even Okubo or Ashikaga allow themselves to be drown in greed like yourself and tries to bring misfortune into this country then they will be tried under the law of the Shinsengumi, Aku Soku Zan.”

Shibumi raised his hand as Saito lifted his sword to deal the deathblow.  “Please wait I’ll do anything if you want money…”

“You can train a dog with food,” Saito cut Shibumi off before he could continue his pathetic cry for mercy.  “You can buy a person with money, but there isn’t a man alive who can influence the Wolves of Mibu.”   He thrust his sword through Shibimi’s heart, killing him.  Saito looked out towards the open window, his thoughts turning to the events earlier that evening and his fight with Kenshin as he pulled out a cloth to wipe his blade clean and return it to it’s sheath at his side.  _Some things will never change, a wolf will always be a wolf, as Shinsengumi will always be Shinsengumi, and a Hitokiri will always be a Hitokiri,_ _right Battosai?_

_***_

Kaoru tossed and turned trying to find a comfortable position to fall asleep.  Somewhere in the night a dog barked, Freckles kneaded the blankets purring as he looked for the softest and warmest place to sleep.  Kaoru felt no peace in her soul however.  It had almost been a week since Okubo and Ashikaga had come to the dojo and tomorrow Ashikaga would be returning to the dojo to hear Kenshin’s answer to their proposal to go to Kyoto.  Kaoru and the others had tried to talk to Kenshin about the affair but he refused to say a word on the matter. 

Anyone else looking in at the situation would say things returned to normal after the affair, but Kaoru knew better.  Since that fight in the dojo with Saito, there had been a distance between her and Kenshin.  They never went out walking together anymore, in fact he had never so much as touched her since the affair when before he always seemed to look for an excuse to just to hold her hand for a moment or flick a stray piece of hair from her face.  He didn’t joke with the others as much, and when he thought no one was looking his face was always drawn and serious. 

She knew that he was having to deal with a lot, like what had happened in the dojo and what they were trying to force him to do.  Sanosuke, Yahiko, and Megumi had made a secret pact to do whatever they had to in order to keep Kenshin from going to Kyoto and Kaoru had gone along with it.  But deep in her heart she wondered if Kenshin would leave.  And if he left would it be with the intention of returning to the dojo or not?

Kaoru rolled to her back, kicking in frustration at the covers.  She was tired of spending her nights wondering if Kenshin would even be there come the morning.  _I love him, more than anything and I would do anything for him.  But is this relationship really the best thing for both of us?_   Kaoru wondered, she hated the thought but the more closed off Kenshin became from her the more it kept coming back.  _If Kenshin keeps having these moments when he returns to the killer that he was then it’s not safe to have him here in the dojo, around Yahiko, and especially around Suzume and Ayame.  And unlike that time with Jin-e and in the marketplace, I didn’t get through to him this time.  He didn’t even hear my voice._

Kaoru felt the tears start to well up and she kicked the blankets back, she sat up staring into the pitch blackness to the wall where in her mind’s eye she saw the banner with her father’s favorite saying pinned on it.  ‘A sword does you no good on the ground’.  Kaoru’s jaw tightened.  _We can’t do this alone, if Kenshin thinks he’s alone then he’ll probably go to Kyoto, he has to know that he’s not alone._   She sat up and pulled on a robe in a rush, flipping her sleeping braid back she slid open the door to her room and crept down the hallway to Kenshin’s room and knocked softly o the doorframe.  “Kenshin?” She called out softly, not wanting to wake him in case he was sleeping.  “Kenshin are you still up?”

She heard the rustle of covers as Kenshin sat up, “Kaoru-dono, is something wrong?” he asked softly through the door.

Kaoru bit her lip before answering.  “Umm, can I talk to you for a bit Kenshin?”

There was a moment of silence before she heard the rustle of fabric as Kenshin got up and there was some fumbling as he lit a candle.  “Come in,” he called out.

Kaoru slid back the door, Kenshin blew out the match he had used to lit the candle, his back to Kaoru.  He turned around, his face questioning at Kaoru’s need for this late night tête-à-tête.  Kaoru stepped in and sat on the edge of the futon, not meeting Kenshin’s gaze for the moment as she tried to collect her thoughts.

“Kaoru-dono, what is that you need to talk about?” Kenshin asked gently.  Kaoru turned to face him, her mouth opened slightly as she started to speak but thought better of it.  He could see in her eyes all the questions that she wanted to ask.  If he would choose to go to Kyoto to kill Shishio, if he would ever become the Hitokiri again like he did in his fight with Shishio, if he would still chose to stay with them despite what had happened, and a dozen others that swum in her eyes.  He wanted nothing more than to sooth all the anxiety, fear, and uncertainly that she felt but he knew that with his own thoughts and feelings jumbled up with what had happened he wouldn’t be able to.

Kaoru was yearning to ask Kenshin what he would decide come the morning, but at the same time she was afraid of the answer she might receive.  She knew what it would do to her if Kenshin told her that he planned to go to Kyoto, or even if he chose not to go but still leave the Kamiya dojo to avoid endangering anyone the result would be the same.  Suddenly she didn’t want to know the answer to the questions she had.  She wanted to believe that for the night at least that everything was all right between her and Kenshin.  That there wasn’t a government plot aiming to take him away from her, that Kenshin would always stay with them and everything she hoped for in their future would come true.

Kaoru smiled at him, “I just realized that I forgot to tell you good night Kenshin.”  Kenshin’s eyes widened a little.  He had been expecting Kaoru to ask him what his choice he would make in the morning.  Kaoru leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Kenshin, hugging him tightly.  “Sweet dreams Kenshin,” she whispered gently.  She drew back, still smiling despite the cold feeling in her heart, “that was all.” 

She turned to leave the room but Kenshin’s voice stopped her “Kaoru-dono.”   Kaoru turned around to him.  Kenshin’s face was sad but there was a hint of a smile on his lips, understanding that though she wanted to know what his decision would be, at the moment she wanted to pretend that there was not a figurative sword hanging over them.  _I used to fight for the sake of the whole world, because I lost everything in my own life worth fighting for.  But now my thinking has changed once again. Now I don’t want to live and fight for the sake of the whole world, I would rather do it for those here, for Yahiko, Sanosuke, Doctor Gensei and his family, Megumi-san, and all of our other friends, but especially for her_. _This happiness that I have found once again._  “Please trust that I will always do what is best for you and the others,” Kenshin asked of her in a serious voice, his eyes intent.

Kaoru gulped and nodded her head, “I trust you.”

Kenshin smiled back, “sweet dreams Kaoru-dono.”

Kaoru paused once again at the door before she looked back at him with sad eyes, “I love you Kenshin Himura, please don’t leave me,” she whispered at him, repeating the same words she had said weeks ago before closing the door quickly.  Kenshin listened to the quick tread of her footsteps back to her room, his heart breaking.


	22. September 22nd

**Chapter 21**

**September 22nd**

Sojiro, a young man barely fifteen, walked into the little room at the inn.  He bowed as he entered the room, “Master Shishio-san you wanted to speak to me?” he asked with his characteristic smile that left his eyes as narrow strips.  The smile was as false as any other emotion he displayed.  Those who spent time around him knew that he was completely incapable of emotion, though only Shishio knew the full reason for that. 

“Yes Sojiro,” a deep voice answered.  “It’s time to put that tenken of yours to use again.”

“Oh really?” Sojiro laughed, scratching the back of his head. 

“Yes your target is Ashikaga, he’ll be traveling in by carriage to the Kamiya dojo today, you will do it in Kioizaka.” 

“Not a problem Master Shishio-san,” Sojiro answered.  “I can handle it.”

“One last thing, there are a couple of messages that I’d like you to deliver while you’re out…”

***

Kaoru listened to the sounds of the girls outside laughing and talking as they helped Kenshin wash the laundry.  She stared at the calendar, September 22 seem as though it was burned into her brain.  _I’ll finally know one way or another, if Kenshin is staying or going._   Kaoru thought, mentally she was trying to prepare herself for either outcome.  She turned away from the calendar, her melancholy feelings filling her soul she sought some kind of solace.  She opened a door to look into the back yard where Kenshin and the girls were working and just the sight of Kenshin brought some solace to her troubled sprit.  She saw him laughing with the girls as they pulled out the sheets and cloths they were washing, proclaiming them as clean and then helping Kenshin hang them on the line. 

She smiled a little at the sight even as she wondered, _how can Kenshin act so calm when such a thing is hanging over everyone?_   She wondered.  Kenshin glanced over to the house and saw her and she quickly put a smile on her face hoping that he hadn’t seen her sad face.  Kenshin however wasn’t so easily fooled.  _Kaoru-dono,_ he thought sadly.  _Can I even make things right anymore?_

_***_

Yahiko threw opened the doors of Sanosuke’s room with Megumi at his side.  They both wrinkled their noses a little when they saw Sanosuke still in bed, sleeping peacefully.  “Sanosuke!” Yahiko snapped.

Sanosuke pulled the covers of his head, “I had a late night, I lost some money on dice so go away,” he muttered.

Megumi and Yahiko both shook their heads.  “Wake up you moron!” Yahiko ordered as he grabbed the covers and pulled. 

Megumi snatched his pillow out from under him and started smacking it against Sanosuke who raised his arm to block her attacks.  “How can you just keep sleeping like this?” she demanded.  “Do you know what day it is today?”

“Sunday right?” Sanosuke asked with a yawn

Yahiko and Megumi both sighed.  “No you dope!” Yahiko snapped.

“It’s September 22, Monday by the way, and the day when Ashikaga is coming to get his answer from Kenshin!” Megumi added.

At this news, Sanosuke sat straight up in bed, grimacing from his injuries and he rubbed the bandages a little, “impossible you telling me Ashikaga already came by?”  _What is it?  Nine or so in the morning?  Who the hell is even up at this time?_

“No, not yet,” Yahiko responded.

“We came to get you so that we can all go and see Ken-san and keep him company.” Megumi crossed her arms haughtily.  “If you would be so kind as to grace us with your presence.”

Sanosuke grabbed haori and slipped his shoes over his feet and swung his haori on, running a quick hand through his hair which did nothing.  “I’m ready to go.”

Megumi raised a single eyebrow.  “Is that really all of your morning routine?”

Sanosuke shrugged, “sleep in your tabi and hakama, that way all you have to do is grab a haori and shoes and you’re ready to go.  What’s wrong with that?”

Megumi rolled her eyes, “disgusting pig,” she muttered under her breath.

“You say something vixen?” Sanosuke demanded.

“You do realize that you’re addressing the person who saved your life right?” She asked haughtily.

“I saved yours first,” Sanosuke shot back.  Megumi wrinkled her face up at him, unable to refute that, she stomped out.

“Come on let’s go,” Yahiko ordered, grabbing Sanosuke’s arm and leading him back to the Kamiya dojo.

***

After Doctor Gensei had arrived at the dojo, Kaoru and the others had decided to take the girls for a walk by the river before Kaoru had to be back at the dojo for the morning lesson.  Kenshin walked ahead with Suzume sitting on his shoulders and Ayame walking next to him, the three happily talking and laughing while Kaoru and Doctor Gensei followed behind them.  “So today is finally the day,” Doctor Gensei said with a heavy voice.  _Through from looking at Kenshin you would never think that anything has changed._

“We are all planning to protect Kenshin every step of the way,” Kaoru replied.  “No matter how Ashikaga pressures him we won’t let Kenshin go to Kyoto.”

“So how does Kenshin feel about all this?” Doctor Gensei asked with a sideways look, _does she even know that Kenshin wants, or at least wanted to marry her?_

Kaoru had a poignant look on her face for a moment before she looked over with a big smile, “he hasn’t said a word about it.”  She looked back, her smile fading.  She remembered the talk she had with Kenshin the night before as she watched Kenshin up ahead. 

“Hey, tell Uncle Kenney it’s true grandpa,” Ayame called back to Doctor Gensei as they came to a stop up ahead.  “Tell him how the fireflies were all over this place last night.” She demanded.

“I love fireflies,” Suzume piped up happily.

“They were really twinkly,” Ayame explained to Kenshin.

Suzume kicked her little legs in excitement, “twinkly!” she declared happily.

“So there are a few fireflies left over from summer?” Kenshin asked cheerful.

“Yes I suppose it’s because of this year’s warm weather.” Doctor Gensei answered the little girl.  Kenshin kneeled down and Suzume started pointing out everything she thought was pretty.  “You know,” Doctor Gensei mused.  “It’s not even been a year yet since Kenshin started staying at the dojo but it feels like he’s been a part of the family much longer hasn’t it?” 

 _And he’ll always be a part of our family,_ Kaoru thought with determination.  _Kenshin won’t go anywhere, he won’t leave us, will he?_

Kenshin was too districted from adding anything to the conversation as he was busy listening to Ayame and Suzume who were busy describing the fireflies they had seen the night before. 

“… and we can all watch them together.”  Ayame cheered. 

Kenshin picked Suzume up by the waist, and set her down on the ground in front of him, “let’s watch together Uncle Kenny?” Suzume asked.

Kaoru leaned over towards Kenshin, “that’s a good idea,” she chimed in.  “Why don’t all of us come tonight and watch the fireflies together?”

 _Watch the fireflies?_ Kenshin thought.  _As a family…_

“It’s a promise, right?” Kaoru persisted, her face getting a little anxious at Kenshin’s silence.

“It’s a promise Uncle Kenny,” Ayame grabbed his hands, not able to comprehend a reason why Kenshin wouldn’t be there to watch the fireflies with them.

“A promise, a promise,” Suzume jumped up and down in excitement.  “We’re going to come back tonight and watch the fireflies with Uncle Kenny!”  She ran to her grandfather in her excitement.

Kaoru’s face grew worried as Ayame ran past her to her grandfather and Kenshin’s face turned distant as he gazed out over the river.

“I…” Kenshin began before a foot stomped on his head, pushing him over.

“Hey!” Sanosuke butt in, “this isn’t time for leisurely strolls Kenshin.  I don’t think you ever would, but you’re not actually thinking of taking their offer are you?”  He asked bluntly.

Behind him, Megumi stood with Yahiko at her side.  “I’m worried because you’re so kind Ken-san,” Megumi spoke up as Kenshin pulled himself back up into a crouching position rubbing his head.  “It would be like you to go if you thought someone was in trouble but I don’t think this is a wise decision.”

“You really shouldn’t go,” Yahiko added.  “Those guys are only asking you to go to Kyoto for their own selfish reasons.”

“Listen to me,” Sanosuke continued a little annoyed that Megumi and Yahiko had thrown their opinions in.  He had practiced his speech as a one-man show and didn’t appreciate having his spotlight taken away.   “Don’t let them use you, this whole thing sinks and if the government itself stinks than you can’t trust those at the top to smell of flowers.”

Kenshin smiled up at Sanosuke, “Sano really hates the Meiji government form the bottom of his heart, that he does.”  He then got promptly stomped in the head again. 

“Course I do, I’m Sekihoutai,” Sanosuke responded.  “Got a problem with that?”

Kenshin pulled himself back up, shaking his head.  “But honestly,” he continued.  “If Okubo and Ashikaga were really motivated by greed there is one thing I’m sure of, Saito would have slain them a long time ago.”

Yahiko had an incredulous look on his face.  “You talking about that delinquent cop?”  He asked.  “He’s just a government dog.”

“No, when we fought earlier he spoke of justice,” Kenshin closed his eyes as he remembered Saito’s words.  ‘ _Aku Zuk Zam, slay evil immediately’._   “No dog would dare to use such words,” Kenshin continued.  “And the code of the Shinsengumi and the Hitokiri was the same.  Even in this peaceful Era, he remains a Wolf of Mibu and his fangs are bared in the darkness where the sun doesn’t reach.  Meaning he’s someone we would not be friends with,” Kenshin concluded mildly.  

“Duh,” Yahiko stated as though any other conclusion would be ludicrous.

“You got that right,” Sanosuke cracked his knuckles.  _If I ever get my hands around him I’d like to wring his throat._

“I hate that man,” Megumi added with an angry toss of her head.  Kaoru was the only one who didn’t say anything. 

Suzume and Ayame glanced at the others and though they didn’t really understand what was going on they joined in chanting, “we hate him, he hate him.”

***

At that moment across town, Saito was sitting in his favorite restaurant enjoying his usual, a plain bowel of soba when he doubled over, sneezing violently 6 times.

“Bless you,” one of the waitress said as she passed by his table.

“Pardon me,” Saito rubbed his nose.  “How does that old saying go?” he wondered softly to himself.  “That we sneeze when someone thinks ill of us.”  He laughed a little to himself as he picked up his tea and sipped it.  _If there is truth to that then I must be doing a good job, after all the Shinsengumi should be disliked in this era._ He smiled a little to himself as he remembered the fight in the dojo with Kenshin.  _Now Battosai what will you choose?_

_***_

Kenshin stood up, one hand on his sword as he looked down the road.  “Well then.”  _It’s time._

“What you doing?” Suzume asked.

“Where are you going Uncle Kenny?” Ayame added, tipping her head in confusion.

“Kenshin?” Kaoru asked.

Kenshin turned back to everyone with a big smile, “I think I will go and see Ashikaga that I will.”

“But I thought he was coming to see us?”  Kaoru asked, as confused as the girls.  _Why does Kenshin have to go and see him?_

“As the Minster of the Interior, Ashikaga is a very busy man,” Kenshin explained.  “It is easier for this one to go see him than the other way around.”

“But how do you even know where Ashikaga is?” Sanosuke demanded.

“I heard he was going to visit the Cabinet over in Akasaka, so I should be able to run into him if I through Kioizaka,” Kenshin replied.

“Okay so why don’t we all go with you?” Yahiko offered.

Kenshin shook his head, “no,” he declined.  “It will be a complicated conversation so it’s better if I go alone, that it is.”  Kenshin turned and walked away, tucking his hands into his sleeve.  Everyone stood and watched him leave.

Yahiko looked up to Kaoru and saw the look on her face, _damn she looks depressed._   Yahiko was sure that Kenshin wouldn’t want to leave willing, _after all he wants to marry Kaoru, but those government guys might try and force him into something.  But maybe Kenshin already has a plan and that’s why he doesn’t want us to tag along because we might get in the way and mess things up._   The more he thought about the more sense it made to Yahiko.  _But someone’s got to see to Kaoru for the moment._  “It’ll be all right, Kaoru,” he told her cheerfully.  “Kenshin’s already found himself a pretty comfortable home at the Kamiya dojo so he’d never leave you to go to Kyoto just like that.”

“That’s right, I’m pretty sure he’d never agree to be the government’s assassin again.” Sanosuke agreed.

“I’ll never let him go, even if I have to force him to stay here,” Megumi vowed.

Suzume looked up to her grandfather, “where did Uncle Kenny have to go?” she asked.

“And when will he be back?” Ayame added.

“Soon,” Doctor Gensei soothed the girls with a hand on their heads.  “I’m sure he will be back soon.”

Kaoru was the only one who didn’t say anything, she was lost in her own thoughts.  _Maybe Kenshin won’t leave, but still if Lord Okubo and Ashikaga are telling the truth.  I know that Kenshin won’t be able to just leave Makoto Shishio alone.  And what Kenshin won’t do… Hitokiri Battosai will._

_***_

Kioizaka, a district of Tokyo whose name bore the first character from each of the three families who lived there before the revolution- Kishu, Bisho, and I’l.  These names combined to form the name of the spot where the most powerful lords’ mansions resided, ranked side by side.  The area remained prime land in Tokyo.  That morning a carriage made its way down the slope on its way to Akasaka carrying the Minster of the Interior, Yuudai Ashikaga, who had no knowledge of the fate that was awaiting him.

 _The meeting today will be a long one,_ he mused to himself.

Further down the road, a teenage boy, Sojiro, lounged under a tree, watching the road careful, he was dressed in a simple hakama with kimono and underneath his kimono was a western style shirt.  He didn’t look out of place there and no one who passed by took any notice of the apparently sleeping boy.  When he saw the carriage carrying Ashikaga making its way down the road he braced himself, ready to chase after it.

  _And work at Internal Affairs is also piling up,_ Ashikaga sighed, he mentally calculated the height of the papers on his desk at the Ministry.  _I won’t be able to get to Himura’s place until after dusk.  Will Himura act?_   Ashikaga wondered, completely unaware that Sojiro had managed to leap onto the carriage unseen by the driver, _no, we must make him act.  Because if he does not this country will crumble._

Sojiro opened the carriage door and Ashikaga’s eyes widened in shock at his presence but he didn’t call out at the mere sight of a boy despite the fact that he had managed to jump aboard a carriage moving a full speed.  That would be his undoing.

“You look like you worry a lot,” Sojiro told him with his usual smile as he sat inside the carriage, closing the door behind him.  “But there’s no reason to worry about the fate of the nation, not when you’re going to be dead.”  Ashikaga suddenly realized the danger he was and was about to call out but Sojiro moved forward, putting a hand over his mouth, forcing his head to back against the seat as he held a tanto to his throat, never losing his smile.  “I have a message from Shishio-san.”  Ashikaga’s eyes widened in fear, suddenly realizing who the boy worked for.   “I’m honored that you would send Hitokiri Battosai after me but it’s a futile effort because I’ll take over this county regardless.  That’s all he had to say,” Sojiro finished before he thrust the tanto forward and through Ashikaga’s throat.  He extracted the blade and Ashikaga slumped over, clenching desperately at his throat, trying to breath as his lungs filled up with blood that also gushed out of his wound and stain the inside furnishings of the carriage.  Sojiro jumped off the carriage before anyone noticed anything unusual. 

Down the road, not a quarter of a mile away, group of former samurai’s leaped out into the road with drawn swords in front of the horses, causing them to skid to a stop, rearing up in fright and the driver fought to regain control of the animals. 

“My name is Ichiro Shimada, a descendent of Ishikawa samurai,” one of the men cried in challenge.

“And I am Tsurahide Chu of the same, Ashikaga prepare to die!”  The men charged forward and the driver was the first to die, before he even had a chance to defend himself.  The samurai then rushed to the carriage and threw open the door and Ashikaga’s body slumped out, his blood dripping on the ground.

The men gasped in surprise, looking around at each other for an answer. 

 “He-he’s dead,” one of the men gasped.

“Someone got to him before us?” Another questioned looking around.

“What the hell is going on here?” a third demanded.

“We already sent the word out to the government and the press that we were going to kill him,” Tsurahide asked, turning to their leader Ichiro.  “So what do we do now?”

“That’s fine,” Ichiro stated simply.  “We killed him, there’s no one to say otherwise so he died by our sword,” with that Ichiro raised his sword and stabbed Ashikaga’s body.

“Yeah!” the men agreed, realizing the logic of the leader’s plan they also raised their swords and stabbed Ashikaga’s body to give credit to their story.

***

 “So Himura-san have you made your decision?” Ashikaga asked intently.

Kenshin sat across from him, his head slightly bowed but he raised his face, his eyes determined.  “I have, I will not go to Kyoto.”

Ashikaga’s eyes widen slightly, “but don’t you realize what’s at stake, if you…”

Kenshin smiled slightly, “I understand perfectly,” he cut Ashikaga off.  “Makoto Shishio is very dangerous and he seeks the downfall of the government.  But there is something that you have failed to see.  I’m not hitokiri anymore,” he shrugged.  “Can I still be hitokiri, yes.  The fight with Saito pointed that out very clearly.  Is that what I want?  No.” Kenshin gripped his hakama in his fists, looking down briefly before continuing.  “If I were to go to Kyoto and do as you ask, there is no guarantee that if I become hitokiri again that I will ever be able to stop being hitokiri and then you might end up back where you started.”

“But Himura-san,” Ashikaga started in a frustrated voice.  “You are not like Shishio, you never fought for the reason that he did.”

“No I don’t imagine that I did,” Kenshin intoned softly.  “But as Shishio fought in the revolution for different reasons than I, the same is true for me.  I do not fight for the same reasons now than I did five years ago.  Then I wanted to build a new world, a peaceful age for the whole country.  And to be honest, the new age that I fought for has yet to come out like I hoped.  And also, then I had nothing to lose, just another orphan with a sword and an ideal.  But now, now I have much to lose.  I have found a comfortable home, friends that will always be there for me, and a good woman who cares not what I have done in the past.  I have to also think of them.  If I were to go to Kyoto what is to keep Shishio for striking at them for my involvement?”

“The government can see to their protection,” Ashikaga bargained. 

Kenshin shook his head, “I’m sorry I will not go to Kyoto, I will help in any other way I can in this affair.  I am sorry.”

Kenshin shook his head slightly, _let’s hope my talk goes as smoothly as I hope it to,_ he thought, pulling himself out of his imagined talk with Ashikaga and back to the present.  Yahiko and Kaoru had both seemed concerned over his absentness since Saito had come but those had been the times that Kenshin had been imagining how the talk with Ashikaga would go.  He tried to come up with every argument they could possibly use against him and his counter argument.

Kenshin looked ahead in the road wondering why there was such a large crowd gathered.  Curious, he pushed his way through the masses.

“What a mess,” a police officer shook his head.

Around Kenshin, there was a hum of people talking. 

“How can this be?”

“Impossible.”

“Please stand back,” a police officer ordered, pushing people back who stepped to close.  “I said stand back.”

“Lord Ashikaga assassinated.”

Kenshin froze at the name, he had managed to push his way through enough to see the carriage and two bodies covered by tatami mats.  From the opposite side of the road a woman was lead through the crowds by an officer that Kenshin recognized as Saito, his jaw tighten at the sight of Saito and his hand slipped to his sword and he gripped it tightly.  The woman on the other hand trembled when she was led to one of the bodies near the carriage.  She kneeled on the ground and pulled the mat back enough to see the face of the body beneath.  Kenshin watched her face turn to one pure agony and a wail of despair escaped her.  She dropped the mat, clenching her hands to her mouth which only muffled the sound of her cries.  Kenshin felt his heart twist for her plight, in his memories he remembered another woman crying in a rainy street in Kyoto over the love Kenshin had killed.

“This is a warning,” Kenshin heard the voice of a young man near him.  “It’s sad that they had to involve you in this, after all that looked like a real nice family you had there Himura-san.”

Kenshin turned his head quickly, looking for the owner of that voice but he saw no one that it could have belonged to.  His hand on his sword trembled.  Behind him, Ashikaga’s wife’s cries grew louder as she started to lose her initial restraint and gave into her grief.  In his soul, Kenshin felt his fury grow, both for the widow behind him and that they would threaten his own family.  _Makoto Shishio,_ he swore.

“Himura,” Kenshin spun around to face Saito.

“I want to talk to Lord Okubo at once,” he demanded, seeing Saito as his fastest way to seeing him. 

Saito didn’t even question it.  “That is where I was going next, follow me.”

***

The news of Ashikaga’s assassination traveled through Tokyo like a ripple in water.  Tae wiped her hands on her apron, busy working when she heard the announcement outside. 

“Extra, extra Minster of the Interior assassinated.  The Lord Ashikaga has been assassinated.”

Tae looked up in alarm, she dropped everything, not caring about the customers anymore.  She ran outside and pushed a couple sen into the newsboy’s hands grabbing a paper from him.  Her heart stopped as she skimmed the story.  She turned back to Tsubama who had followed her outside.  “Tell my husband I’ll be back, I’ve got to see Kaoru!” Tae told her in a rush as she took off running to the Kamiya dojo.

“Kaoru, Yahiko!” Tae called out as she came running into the dojo in the middle of Kaoru’s lesson.

“Tae, what’s going on?” Kaoru asked in concern, stepping at once to her friend who was panting hard form her mad race.  She held the paper out.  “Lord Ashikaga, assassinated,” she gasped.

“What!” Kaoru snatched the paper, reading through the paper.  Her students were looking around in shock at the news.  Kaoru’s face went white and she turned back to her students.  “Class, the Minster of the Interior was assassinated this morning,” she announced, her voice trembling slightly.  “It says here that he was killed in Kioizaka by seven former samurais of the Ishikawa family who were dissatisfied by the government.”  A few of the boy’s jaws dropped at the news. 

“In broad daylight, they killed someone that important in broad daylight?”

Kaoru nodded, “everyone, class is dismissed for today, please go home.”  Kaoru turned away for a moment, trying absorb the news, _Kenshin was going to Kiozaka today._   _The paper only said that Ashikaga had been killed but there was no one else mentioned._   _Of course that doesn’t mean much, they may just not have reported if anyone else had been killed at the scene.  Oh Kenshin._

_***_

Kenshin and Saito had shared a carriage to Akasaka and arrived where the Cabinet met.  They were shown in to an upper office where two men were gathered.  Kenshin expected the first, but was surprised to see the second.  “Okubo-san,” Kenshin bowed in respect before turning to the second who he had not seen in over five years and whose face seemed even older with the cares of state.  “Katsura-sensei.”

“It’s Takoyoshi now,” Kido corrected.

Kenshin shook his head, “of course I’m sorry.”

“So you have you heard about Ashikaga’s assassination?” Saito asked.

Okubo nodded, “the telegram arrived before you did.  So Himura-san,” he started turning to give Kenshin an intense look.  “Have you made a decision now that you have seen how Shishio operates?  He hides his real work behind others so that he stays in the shadows plotting and making others take the fall for his crimes.  And he will continue to whittle at the government until it collapses.  Will you put an end to this?”

“Okubo-san,” Kido cut in.  “That’s enough, Himura-san took his leave five years ago, why do you insist on involving him now?”

“You did not agree to this?” Kenshin asked Kido.

Kido turned to him with contrite expression.  “I am sorry Himura-san, I tried to keep you out of this but Okubo-san and Ashikaga-san insisted on this.  No matter what Okubo-san says you are under no obligation to us anymore.”

“I’ll do it,” Kenshin stated before anyone could say another word.  Kido’s eyes widened slightly, this was not what he had expected.  Kenshin turned to Okubo, “I will go to Kyoto and I will see to the matter of Makoto Shishio once and for all.”

“Himura-san thank you,” Okubo bowed his head, feeling a surge of relief.  Saito smiled slightly, Kido looked as though he had been hit by a ton of bricks. 

“Himura-san, did not hear me, you owe us nothing anymore.  You don’t have to do this.”  Kido assured him again.

“We will of course reward you handsomely for this Himura-san,” Okubo continued, ignoring Kido.

“Keep your money, I don’t need or want it,” Kenshin spat.  He turned to Kido and with a gentler tone added.  “I’m not doing this for the government, Shishio has sent a warning, he knows that I’m involved now and so will target those I’m close to.”  Kido’s jaw tighten with understanding.  Kenshin turned back to Okubo, “I ask only two things, first that you see to the protection of all those at the Kamiya dojo while I go to Kyoto, and second for you to make good on your promise of acquitting Megumi Takani of all crimes she may or may not have committed, today.” 

“Done,” Okubo agreed, “a former pardon will be sent out before sunrise tomorrow.  As for the protection of your friends, suitable arrangements will be made at once.”  He turned to Saito, “I’m sure you can arrange something.” Saito bowed in acknowledgement.

“Ashikaga’s death comes at unfortunate time,” Kido mused.  “Saigo has returned to Satsuma disgruntled with the government after the affair with Korea, and now Ashikaga’s dead, this will put our plans for a nation state back even further.”

“A nation state?” Kenshin asked.

“Yes a nation state,” Okubo answered.  “Where the people would be able to decide their own fate, the current government where only a handful of people decided the fate of the whole country can’t last long.  That is why we wish to start the gradual change to a true nation-state so as to complete the true revolution, we had hoped to start this change within five years.  But now,” he sighed.  “I fear it will be longer than any of us would like.”

“A nation state,” Saito mused.  “Nothing but a distant dream.”

“But is a dream we can strive towards,” Kido insisted. 

“Well the dream will remain a distant one, while scum like Shishio still walk this earth,” Saito concluded.

“Is there anything that you need from us Himura-san, to aid you against Shishio?”  Okubo asked.

Kenshin shook his head, “no, if you’ll excuse me, there is much to be seen to before I leave tonight.”  With that he bowed, before he turned to leave he looked to Kido one last time, “it is truly good to see you sensei.”

***

Kenshin stood on the bridge in town, his decision had been made, he was going to leave for Kyoto that night, but he hesitated.  Not in his choice to leave, that decision had been made and Kenshin would stand by it.  He hesitated in what he should do about the others at the dojo.  _I can’t go back to say goodbye, if I do that,_ Kenshin shook his head.  Behind him the newsboys were calling out their news, trying to sell more papers.  _Sanosuke and the others would never let me go to Kyoto.  And then it would just lead to an argument and then they would follow this one and…_ Kenshin sighed.  _Besides Shishio now knows I’m involved, if he sees me say goodbye to them he will know what they mean to me, but if I just leave he might think that they don’t mean that much and leave them alone.  Or at the least he would only be guessing as to which one to target first to hurt me the most.  So I have to just leave, no word, no explanation.  Just go._

The moment he thought it he suddenly realized how easy it would be to do, he had only a few other sets of clothes, and they were already folded neatly in his room, it would take no time at all to stuff them into the bag in his closet.  His only other procession he carried, his sword was at his side, his money pouch tucked into his kimono.  Kenshin closed his eyes, suddenly realizing why Kaoru had always seemed so sure that he might leave at any moment.  _Kaoru-dono_ Kenshin sighed again, staring into the river flowing beneath him.

 _I promised her that I would never leave without saying goodbye,_ Kenshin rested his head on his hands, his elbows propped on the rails of the bridge.  _But If I seek her out, and only her than she is the one Shishio will target.  I can’t do that, I can’t put her at that risk.  But I can’t just abandoned her like that,_ Kenshin realized.  _She deserves so much more than just to be left without a word of explanation._   Kenshin’s lips pursed as he thought about it, thinking about he would leave Kaoru and the others was sadly, a more pleasant train of thought than what he would do once he got to Kyoto and found Shishio.  _A letter perhaps?_   He wondered but discarded that idea.  _And what would you even say in it?  Dear Kaoru-dono, I’m an ass who doesn’t even have the guts to tell you I’m never coming back to your face, with love, Kenshin._ Kenshin’s thoughts continued in a black circle as the swirl of conversation around him centered on the death of Ashikaga.

“What’s going to happen now?”

“Is another war going to began?  Just like the Boshin Wars?”

“Maybe the government will collapse…”

“Is the chaos of the revolution going to start again?”

“Please no, I don’t want to see so many people die again.”

“Is there no God or Buddha watching out for us?”

The words of ‘no god watching out for them’ struck Kenshin to his soul.  He closed his eyes at little at those words.  _When I was a child I believed with my whole heart in the god my parents taught me to pray to.  But somewhere in the revolution, not long after I became hitokiri I prayed less and less often until finally I stopped, I had lost all faith in gods and religion.  No, there is no god looking over us.  There are barely any people who watch out for others, let alone a god.  After all, if there was a god, and I believed in him as much as I did, then why does this hitokiri sill live in me, ready to hurt those I love the most?_

The talk of gods turned Kenshin’s mind to the afterlife and then to Jin-e.  He remembered Jin-e’s words before he died, ‘a Hitokiri is a Hitokiri until the day they day, and you are a true Hitokiri.”  Kenshin closed his eyes, _I do not wish to admit it but there is truth to what he said.  There is no denying that the Battosai is a part of my true self, destined to live and breathe only in war and battle.  And as long he remains I hurt the people around me.  I shall always be a hitokiri, these blood stain hands of mine cannot let go of the sword.  The times have began to move again, and I can no longer stand still in the peace of the Kamiya dojo, instead I must go to Kyoto and face Shishio._


	23. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

**A Wish Unrequited**

Night fell and Kaoru, Sanosuke, Yahiko, Doctor Gensei, Megumi, Ayame and Suzume were all gathered in the Kamiya dojo.  The girls were busy playing in a corner, they weren’t sure exactully what was going on but they knew something bad had happened as they listened to the adults continued to discuss the assassination.

Kaoru looked away from everyone, _it’s getting so late, where is Kenshin?_   She wondered, tuneing out what the others were saying.

Yahiko piped up and Kaoru tuned back into the conversation.  “I feel bad saying this after what’s happened, but doesn’t the fact that Ashikaga dying take some of the pressure off Kenshin?” He asked looking to the others for an answer.

Kaoru didn’t even hear the reply, she was starting to get a headache and she longed for some fresh air.  Able to take it no more, she stood up and walked to the door.

“Kaoru-chan, is everything all right?” Doctor Gensei asked in concern

Kaoru turned back to everyone with a big smile.  “I just need some fresh air, I’ll be back in a bit,” she stepped outside and closed the door behind her but she still felt stifled.  Knowing that she needed to get out of the dojo, she stepped out of the gate and started walking.  She didn’t have a set destination in mind but her feet knew the way, they wander down to the little spot she and Kenshin would frequent which was also the same spot that she and the girls had tried to get Kenshin to promise to come back and watch fireflies with them.  Kaoru smiled a little, _they weren’t kidding about the fireflies,_ she thought.  The air was teaming with them.  She stepped under the shadow of the cherry trees and stared into the river.  _Cherry trees and fireflies,_ Kaoru thought.  _Both symbols of the samurai.  The cherry blossom lives and dies in such a short time, a sign of the fleetingness of mortality and hence is a perfect symbol of the samurai.  Because of this the hilt of many swords is carved from cherry wood.  And the firefly, also a symbol of the fleetness of mortal life._   Kaoru sighed.  She tried to think of the happier times she had spent here with Kenshin, about the things they talked about.  She remembered that before Saito had attacked Sanosuke, she had been standing in this very spot with Kenshin and he had been telling her a story of his past.  _I wonder what the full story is?_   _But I’ll settle for knowing where Kenshin is right now._

“They’re beautiful fireflies aren’t they?”

Kaoru turned around, her heart beating fast at that familiar and longed for voice.  “Kenshin!” she cried happily as he walked to her.  She stepped forward and wrapped him up in a big hug, resting her head against his shoulder.  “I was so worried about you. You’ve been gone for so long.”

Kenshin felt his heart breaking as he held Kaoru but he steeled himself for what he had to do.  He pulled Kaoru back, looking her in the eye.  “Ashikaga was assassinated this morning,” he informed her.  The the fireflies flew around them, giving them the light to see by while the waning moon was hidden behind a cloudbank.

Kaoru stepped back, “I know I heard the news,” she responded.  Her heart, which had leapt from joy at Kenshin’s presence, was suddenly trembling and afraid for what was coming next.

“Shishio was behind it all,” Kenshin informed her bluntly, Kaoru’s eyes widened at the news and she clasped her hands to her chest.  “I can’t just stand by and let Shishio continue doing this, I’ll be going to Kyoto.”

Kaoru felt her heart stop at those words, she turned back to the river, her previous thoughts about the symbolism of the fireflies and the cherry trees came rushing back to her.  _Life, death, the fleetness of it all, even of one’s love._   “Does that mean you’re going back to the man you were five years ago?  That you are going to,” Kaoru hesitated, “kill Shishio?”

“No… maybe,” Kenshin hesitated.  “I don’t know,” he answered honestly.  “For five years I’ve forbidden myself from becoming Battosai, always staying in control.  However, the battle with Saito taught me something very clearly.  It showed me that deep inside me there is a vicious Hitokiri who will never change.”

 _‘Me’_ Kaoru knew that Kenshin was once again dropping his carefully built walls.  She once believed it was an act to get people to leave him alone and not challenge him.  But now she knew the truth, that it was not a wall to keep the world from seeing his true self, it was a wall to keep his Battosai-self hidden from the world.  And one of the first signs that those walls were coming down was when he started using the word ‘me’.

“But that’s not all there is to you, you’re more than a Hitokiri,” she pleaded desperately, turning back to face Kenshin, hoping against hope that she could persuaded him to stay.  Trying to get him to see the man she saw.  “You’re a Rurouni who doesn’t kill.”  She took a deep breath before going on, “like in the time with Jin-e and Saito, you did become Battosai for a moment but you came back to your true self.” _Please don’t leave, please don’t ever leave me._   _I don’t even care what you become so long as you stay with me._

“But that’s different,” he told her simply.  “With Jin-e the Battosai emerged out of the desire to save you and left once your voice was heard.  But with Saito.”  Kenshin drifted off slightly.  “Battosai emerged just to _fight_ him.  Your voice didn’t reach.”

Kaoru gulped, not wanting to admit the truth Kenshin pointed out.  Her hands trembled, she felt her world slipping away brick by brick.  _The fleetness of life…_   The fireflies swirled around them and the wind shook the branches of the cherry trees.

 _Time has begun to flow once more…_   “Do you remember when we first met?” Kenshin asked her gently, reaching out and grabbing her hands to still their trembling, he opened one hand and laid in it the key that Kaoru had given him to the dojo, a symbol that she had truly welcomed him into her home and life.  Kaoru looked at him, her chin was trembling but she tried to hold back her tears.  “You _understood_ even after finding out about that I was Hitokiri Battosai.  ‘I don’t care about your past’ you said.  I was glad that you said that.  Time with you has renewed my soul day after day.  And I could have spent the rest of my life in peace here with you.”  Kenshin closed his eyes, leaning his forehead against hers.  “You more than anyone, believed that I was more than just a hitokiri, and even when I doubted it, you still believed in me and I will always love you for that.”  Kenshin pulled his head back, seeing the tears in Kaoru’s eyes that she refused to shed, her face was downturned and she was unable to look into his eyes.  “But,” _if I stay any longer than each incident will involve Kaoru-dono and the others and Battosai will become closer each time._ “To the government, Shishio and his men, and to everyone in this country who hated Hitokiri Battosai I am _only_ him.  …s _tanding still is no longer permitted._

Kenshin let go of her hands and stepped forward, hugging her tightly and Kaoru’s resolve not to cry broke and the tears streamed down her face.  “Kenshin,” she whispered desperately.

“Thank you for everything Kaoru-dono, but I’m a Rurouni, and it’s time to wander again.  Farewell.”  Kenshin let go of her and in a rush turned and left quickly.  Kaoru wanted to reach out and stop him, she wanted to call after him.  To make him stop, make him turn around.  But he never even looked back and Kaoru watched him disappeared.  _He’s not really leaving, this isn’t real, Kenshin loves you, he would never leave you._   Kaoru thought in desperation even as Kenshin disappeared from her sight.

She fell to her knees, the tears flowing freely.  “Kenshin,” she cried, clawing at the dirt in the road, _cherry blossoms and fireflies, beginning and ends, life, death, happiness, all fleeting.  The only thing that lasts is pain._   “Kenshin, please come back, I love you.  Please don’t leave me, please.”  Kaoru cried, but she knew he was gone and would never come back, the cold metal of the key in her hand testified to that.

Across the river hidden in the branches of a cherry tree, Sojiro watched the whole affair through a telescope.  _Master Shishio will find this very interesting…_

 

**_On this day, in the 6th year of the Meiji, September 22nd,_ **

**_Kenshin Himura became a Rurouni once again._ **

**_And disappeared into the darkness_ **

**_alone._ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So to celebrate my reaching my Camp NaNoWriMo goal this mouth I'm posting up this little epilogue. Quick update on the series, the next book has been hashed out and I have the rough draft but it needs some editing before it's ready to post. Because of that I'm probably going to take a couple of weeks off for editing before I start posting. Don't worry, before the end of August I will start posting again with the new book, so until then you're just going to have to live with this heartbreaking ending.


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